£77 




REMNANT OF THE OLD FOUT OF THE ALAMO. 



A 

Pictorial History 



-OF- 



T E X A S, 



From the Earliest Visits of European 

ADVENTURERS, TO A. D. 1879. 



EMBRACING THE PERIODS OF MISSIONS, COLONIZATION, THE REVOLFTION 
- THE REPUBLIC, AND THE STATE; ALSO, A TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIP- ' 
-^riON OF THE COUNTRY; ITS RIVERS, MOUNTAINS, SOILS. MINEKALS 
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, LIVE STOCK, POPULATION, RE- 
SOURCES. WEALTH, ETC.; TOGETHER WITH ITS INDIAN 
TRIBES AND THEIR WARS, AND BIOGRAPHICAL 
SKETCHES OF HUNDREDS OF ITS LEAD- 
ING HISTORICAL CHARACTERS. 



— ALSO,- 



A LIST OP THE COUNTIES, WITH HISTORICAL AND TOPICAL 
NOTES. AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PUBLIC INSTI- 
TUTIONS OF THE STATE, ASYLUMS, PENI- 
TENTIARY, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES. 
R^^ILROADS, ETC. 



FIFTH EDITION, CAREFULLY REVISED, 



BY REV. HOMER S. THRALL, A. M. ' 




ST. LOUIS, MO. : 

N. D. THOMPSON & CO. 

1879. 



r =5^^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, 

By homee s." thrall. 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



Among the newer States of our American Union, there is prob- 
ably no one about which so much has been written and published 
as the State of Texas. In 1857, Frederick Law Olmsted publish- 
ed a volume of 516 pages, entitled '* A Journey Through Texas ; 
or a Saddle-trip on the South-western Frontier." Mr. Olmsted 
mentions thirty-three bound volumes on Texas, by more than 
thirty authors. Seven of these were in two volumes each, making 
an aggregate of forty separate books, many of them large octavos 
of from four hundred to six hundred pages. Since that period 
the press has thrown off scores and even hundreds of publications 
— histories, biographies, descriptive pamphlets, addresses, etc. 
These have been scattered broadcast over the country by immi- 
gration agencies, railroad corporations, companies of land specu- 
lators, and others. The question arises, then, whence the 
necessity of another work on Texas? Partly because previous 
histories have been toe brief in some particulars and too diffuse 
in others. Many of the descriptive pamphlets have been too 
highly colored ; personal narratives too partial, and often de- 
fective in details ; and the statistics too meagre and in some 
instances entirely unreliable. It needed another volume to give 
a complete history of the State down to the present time ; and to 
condense, and classify, and give in a reasonable space the past 
history, present condition and prospective development of this, 
the great Empire State of the continent. 

The design of the author is to give in the present volume a 



iv. PREFACE. 

true picture of Texas, its soil, its climate, its people and theii 
institutions, its resources, its capabilities for sustaining a dense 
population— a population to be counted by the million. We say 
a tme picture, so that the immigrant entering the State may learn 
vhat part is best adapted to the business in which he proposes to 
en'^age. To the hardy poor man who expects to make his living 
by honest industry, and to raise his family where they will enjoy 
the advantages of good schools and churches, probably no portion 
of the American continent oflfers such advantages as Texas. 
Here labor is always in demand at remunerative price ; provisions 
are cheap ; here is land for those who wish either to lease or 
purchase ; tenement houses are furnished to farm laborers ; and 
a permanent home may be acquired upon accommodating terms. 
A homestead once secured, the man soon finds himself in posses- 
sion of teams and tools, of hogs and cattle, and is surrounded 
with home comforts. 

In the departments devoted to history , special pains have been 
taken to give facts and dates, with such reflections as will enable 
the reader to understand the controversies in reference to the own- 
ership of the country, and the various questions which have from 
time to time agitated the people, producing, in some instances, 
revolutions, and changes in the form of government. These 
events are generally related in chronological order, though in 
some instances that order has been deviated from, to complete 
the narrative of one event before entering upon that of another. 

In the notes, the reader will find a complete list of the execu- 
tives of the State, and the personnel of the various departments of 
the o-overnment ; also the votes at the principal popular elections, 
showing the steady increase in the number of electors. 

In the part devoted to the Indians may be found many inter- 
esting particulars of the aboriginal inhabitants of our prairies, 
and some thrilling incidents of frontier life and Indian warfare. 
It was not in accordance with the taste of the author to dwell 
iono- upon these harrowing scenes. Hapi)ily, such scenes now 



PEEFACE. V. 

seldom occur, and we have good reason to believe that we shall 
hear no more of these Indian raids, and the barbarities inflicted 
upon the pioneers of civilization. 

We think the reader will find the biographical department 
especially rich in interest. Arranged in alphabetical order are 
the names of more than two hundred of the men who have fio-ured 
conspicuously in Texas history. Space is accorded to each some- 
what in proportion to his historical importance, though the 
sketches of men still living are very brief, and mainly confined 
to the mere facts connected with their pul)lic life. 

The historical notes and topographical descriptions of the counties 
of the State, arranged in alphabetical order, are necessarily brief, 
but will give the reader a correct idea of their location, the char- 
acter of the soil, and other particulars necessary for those seeking 
homes in the State. 

In the miscellaneous department may be found a vast amount 
of information, condensed into a small compass — an account of 
our asylums, penitentiaries, educational institutions and churches 
— agricultural products and live stocks railways and commerce 
— statistical tables of wealth and population, etc. 

In the preface to " Thrall's School History of Texas " issued 
by the University Publishing Company of New York, in 1876, 
the author said : '« The history of Texas possesses a peculiar in- 
terest. The contests for the possession of the country ; the grand 
old mission structures efected for the conversion of the natives ; 
the numerous changes of government, give to our history an air 
of romance. In the summary of events in this volume, these 
interesting topics are only briefly noticed ; but it is to be hoped 
this recital will stimulate many to a more thorough investigation 
into the heroic period of our history." The present volume is 
sent forth not to supersede the school history, but to supplement 
and complement it. The former has its place and is adapted for 
the purpose for which it was prepared — use in the school room ; 
but the teacher who, with that volume, introduces his pupils to an 



VI. PREFACE, 

acquaiutancc with the elementary history of Texas, will need this 
to give the details and incidents in full which could not be incor- 
porated in the smaller work. 

In conclusion, the author returns his sincere thanks to the very 
large number of distinguished gentlemen — too numerous to men- 
tion — who have given him encouragement and assistance in his 
Work. 

H. S. THRALL. 

San A_ntonio, Texas, November 26\ 1878. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

OENEBAL DESCBIPTION OF THE COUKTRl. 
CHAPTER I. 

?AGE. 

IJ^ame. — Texas Claimed by both Spain and France. — Boundaries. — Area. 
— Characteristics of the country. .--- - - -17 

CHAPTER II. 

General Divisions of the State.— ISorth Texas.— East Texas.— Middle 
Texas. — West Texas. — Northwest Texas. — Southwest Texas. — The 
Mineral Region.— The Pan Handle, or Staked Plains. - - - 23 

CHAPTER III. 

Texas Rivers. — Their Names. —What Streams are Navigable.— Depth of 
Bars at Mouth. — Inland Navigation. — Water Supply. — Artesian 
Wells. — Water Power. - bb 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Mountains. — Altitude of Prominent Places. — Minerals. — Copper. — 
Lead. — Iron, — Silver. — Coal — Guano Caves, etc. - - - - 65 



PART 11. 

TEXAS UNDEB SPANISH DOMIKATIOK,— 1685— 1820. 
CHAPTER I. 

Landing of La Salle. — Misfortunes. — Fort Saint Louis. — La Salle As- 
sassinated on the Nechez River by his own Men. — Fort Saint Louis in 
Ruins. ...- 



Vlll. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER II. 

Dc Leon, Govemor of Monclova, in Texas. — Founds Presidio, — in 1690. 
— Succeeded by Domingo Teran. — Saint Denis on the Rio Grande. — 
Correspondence Between De Alarconne and La Harpe. — Belisle on 
the Coast. — Indian League. - .-87 

CHAPTER KT. 

Mission Establishments. — First Mass.— Missions in Alphabetical Order. 
— Adaes. — Aes. — Alamo. — Concepcion. — La Espada. — Gua(ialui)e. — 
La Bahia. — La Trinidad. — Loretto. — Nacogdoches. — Orquizaco. — 
Refugio. — Rosario. — San Fernandes. — San Jose, — San Saba. - - 92 

CHAPTER lY. 

Colonists from the Canaries at San Antonio. — Texas at the Opening of 
the Nineteenth Century. — Nolan's expedition. — Difficulties Between 
Spain and the United States. — War Imminent, but Averted by Mys- 
terious Diplomacy. .--.---..- 102 

CHAPTER V. 

Magee's Expedition. — Gutierres' March to Goliad. — Death of Magoo.— 
Desperate Fiirhting. — The Victorious Republicans on the way to San 
Antonio, gain a Splendid Victory on the Rosillo Creek — Shameful 
Massacre of Spanish Ofllcers. — Battle of Alasan. — Republicans De- 
feated at the Battle of Medina. — And the Royalists Avenge the Death 
of their Brother Officers - - - - - - - -112 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Republicans at Galveston. — Aury. — Perry. — Mina. — Expedition to 
Soto La Marina. — Lafitte the Pirate. — Long's Expedition. — Dispersed 
in East Texas. — Rallies a Second Time at Galveston. — Takes Goliad. 
— Sent by the Spanish Republicans to the City of Mexico, where he is 
Mysteriously Mui'dered. — Mrs. Long Heroically Awaits his Return. — 
Conclusion of the Period. ----....- 125 



PART III. 

COLONIZATION UNDER JIEXTCAN DOMINATION, 1820— 

1834. 

CHAPTER I. 
Mexico Becomes a Republic. — Plan of Iguala. — Mexico Gains an Indis- 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix. 

PAGE, 

putable Title to Texas. — Colonization. — Keene. — Owen.— Moses Aus- 
tin Obtains a Contract.— Dies.— Stephen F. Austin in Texas, Selects a 
Location for his Colony— Austin Aided by Hawkins.— Schooner 
Lively Lost. — Austin in the City of Mexico. 147 

CHAPTER n. 

Colonization Law of 1823.— Of 1824.— Coahnila in 1825; and again 
in 1832.— San Felipe Laid Out; Land Office Opened. — In 1824. — Ed- 
wards' Grant and Fredonian Troubles at Nacogdoches. — The Edv/ards 
Contract Annulled by Governor Blanco. 152 

CHAPTER in. 

Other Contracts.— Thorn.— Leftwich.—DeWitt.—DeLeon.— Austin's 
Second Contract, and others from 1825 to 1830.— Settlement on Red 
River.— In the Southeast— Galveston Bay Company.— In the South- 
west. - 165 

CHAPTER IV. 

Civil Administration —Governors.— Land Commissioners.— Alcaldes 
Districts.— Ayuntaniiento.— Political Chiefs of Departments.— 
State Congress. — Reflections on Colonization. — Almonte in the Prov- 
ince.— His Report — Disturbing Elements.— Taxation.— Slavery.— 
Texas Coveted by the United States. 169 

CHAPTER V. 

Bustemente's Famous Decree.— Custom Houses.— Garrisons Estab- 
lished.— Bradburn's Arbitrary Proceedings at Anahuac— The Texans 
pronounce for Santa Anna and the Constitution of 1824.— Fight at 
Velasco. — At Nacogdoches. — Peace Prospects in 1832. - - - 178 

CHAPTER VI. 

Hostile legislation.— Movement for a separation from Coahuila.— Con- 
vention of 1833.— Austin sent as Commissioner to Mexico.— Santa 
Anna deserts the Liberal Party.— Coahuila in a State of Revolu- 
tion. — Austin in Prison. — Santa Anna's Ultimatum to Texas. - 187" 



PART IV. 

THE REVOLUTION'. 
CHAPTER I. 



Santa Anna developing his New Policy.— Austin still a State Pxisoner. 
— Citizens Disarmed. — Zacatccas resists the Usurper. — Frauds in 
3 



X. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Coahuila. — The Legislature dispersed by Cos. — Milam and Viesca 
Taken Prisoners — Republicans defeated at Zacatecas. — Santa Anna 
Dictator. — Parties in Texas. — Captain Thompson and the Schooner 
Corea. — Proscribed Patriots. ..----. 197 

CHAPTER II. 

Committees of Safety. — Austin's Return. — Candella at Goliad. — Con- 
flict at Gonzales — Goliad Captured by the Texans. — Austin in 
Command on the Guadalupe. — The Consultation — Provisional Gov- 
ernment — Austin Marches towards San Antonio — Battle of Concep- 
cion. — The Grass Fight. — The Executive Couucil. - . - 205 

CHAPTER III. 

A Navy Improvised. — San Antonio Invested. — Captured by the 
Texans. — Liberal Terms to the Vanquished. — Breach between Gov- 
ernor Smith and his Council. — Austin's Timely Advice. — Convention 
of 1836. — Declares the Independence of Texas. — Government Ad 
Interim. — Proposed Descent upon Matamoras. - - - . 219 

CHAPTER IV. 

Santa Anna's Texas Programme.— Fall of the Alamo. — Fate of its 
Brave Garrison. — Urrea in the South-west. — Death of Grant, Mor- 
ris, etc. — Ward and King at Refugio. — Goliad Evacuated — Battle of 
Colita. — The Fcinnin 3fassacre. — Reflections on the Conduct of the 
Campaign. -- -- 238 

CHAPTER V. 

The Mexican March towards San Jacinto. — Houston's Retreat. — Camps 
in Mill Creek Bottom. — The Mexicans meet with Resistance at San 
Felipe, and Turn Down the River to Richmond. — Both Armies Cross 
the Brazos. -.-..---.-- 255 

CHAPTER VI. 

The hostile Armies Approach Each Otlier. — Skirmish on the 20th. — 
Battle of San Jacinto, April 21. — Houston's Ofiicial Report. — 
Reflections. _.-_. 261 

CHxVPTER VII. 

President Burnet at Galveston. — Retreat of Filisola. — Treaty with 
Santa Anna. — Feeling in East Texas. — Difficulties of the President 
and His Cabinet. — Attempt to Arrest the President. — Another Mex- 
ican Invasion Threatened. — Naval Operations. — Mortit's Report on 
Texas. — Election. — Meeting of Congress. — Constitutional Govern- 
ment. 272 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi. 

PART V. 
THE REPUBLIC, FROM 1837 TO 1846, 
CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Houston's Administration.— Congressional Proceedings.— Land Laws. 
Tlae Navy.— Government lienioved to Houston . - - - . or^j 

CHAPTER n. 

Lamar's Administration.— Trouble at Nacogdoches.— A New Navy.— 
Austin Selected as the Permanent Capital.— New Colonies.— Republic 
of the Rio Grande.— Santa Fe Expedition.— Its Miscarriao'e and the 
^^"^^^- - - - - - - -302 

CHAPTER HI. 

Houston's Second Administration.— State of the Public Finances.— Raids 
ofVasquez and Woll.— The Archive War.— Somervell in the South- 
west.— Mier Expedition.— Its Disasters.— The Snively Expedition.— 
Santa Anna's Proposal through Robinson.— The Navy. - - -319 

CHAPTER IV. 

Jones' Administration.— Texas Prosperous.— Annexation Again Agi- 
tated.— England, France and the United States Interested. —Action'of 
the Texas Congress.— The Convention Accepts the Terms, July 4th, 
1845.— Vote of the People. - - - . - - - - 341 



PART VI. 

TEXAS AS A STATE, FROM 1847 TO 1879. 

CHAPTER I. 

Henderson's Administration.— Courts.— Public Domain.— Texans in the 
Mexican War.— Horton Acting Governor —Wood's Administration.— 
Public Debt.— Santa Fe Again.— Bell's Administration.— The United 
States Propose to Buy Santa Fe.— Pearce's Boundary Bill.— Santa 
Fe Sold.— Disputes About Land in Peter's Colony. - - - .357 

CHAPTER II. 

Pease's Administration.— Debt of the Old Texas Republic scaled and 
settled.— Mexican Cart War.— Taxes Relinquished to Counties.— 
Political Parties. — Runnell's Administration.— Railroads.— Indian 
Reservations.— Cortina in Brownsville.— Houston's Administration. 
—Political Excitement.— Cortina Again.— Frontier Defence.— Hous- 
ton's Message to the Legislature.— Secession Convention.— Ordinance 
Passed.— Texas Unites with the Newly-formed Confederacy.— Hous- 
ton Deposed. -----...... 3(39 



Xll. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

PAGE, 

Clark's Administration.— SuiTciider of United States Property at San 
Antonio, and in the South-west. — Indians Hostile.— Warlike prepara- 
tions on a Large Scale.— The Bloclcade.— Lubbock's Administration.— 
The State Prosperous. — Arizona Expedition. — Federals take Posses- 
sion of Galveston.— Magruder in ComiAand in Texas. — Recapture of 
Galveston by tlie Confederates. — Federals Repulsed at Sabine Pass. — 
Conscript Law. — Martial Law. — Cotton Orders. — Houston on Mar- 
tial Law. — Murrah's Administi-ation. — Fine Crops. — Fedei-als in the 
South-west.— Fighting in Louisiana. — Cotton Orders Again. — Mur- 
rah vs. Magruder. — Confederate Armies Disband. ... 388 

CHAPTER IV. 

First Reconstruction. — Hamilton's Administration. — Registration of 
Loyal Voters. — Election. — Convention. — Hamilton's Message. — 
Throckmorton's Administration. — Governments in the Southern 
States Declared Provisional, only. — Sheridan's Order on Assuming 
(Command. — New Registration. — Iron Clad Oath. — Throckmorton . 
Removed. — Second Reconstruction Convention. — Ab initio Contro- 
versy. — Suflfrage Bill. — Protest of the Ab initios. — Convention Dis- 
solved. — Election. 409 

CHAPTER V. 

Davis' Administration. — Texas Delegates Admitted to Their Seats in 
Congress. — Martial Law Again. — State Police. — Frontier Protection. 
— Thi'eateued Collision at the Close of his Administration. — Happily 
Averted. — Coke's Administi'ation. — Country Prosperous. — Constitu- 
tional Convention. — Hubbard's Administration. — Lawlessness Sup- 
pressed. -...-.-.--.- 429 



PART VII. 

INDIANS. 

CHAPTER I. 

Three Classes of Indians. 1. Pueblas. — Indians who Cultivate the 
Soil.— 2. Nassonites, Cennis, Caddos,'Wacos, Intrusive Tribes. — 3. 
Nomadic or Migratory Indians, that Live by Hunting — Comauches, 
Apaches, Lipans, etc., etc. ..-..,.- 445 

CHAPTER II. 

Battles in Chronological Order.— On Galveston Island, 1818-1821.— On 
the Colorado, 1822-1823.— Caranchuas Banished, 1825.— Fights from 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii. 

PAGE. 

1826 to 1829.— Bowie's Fight in 1831.— Wilbarger Scalped in 1833.— 
On Red Eiver in 1834. — Parker's Fort Massacre in 1836. — Mrs. Plum- 
mer's Captivity. — Cynthia Ann Parker's Captivity of Twenty-five 
Years.- -----_..__.. 45j^ 

CHAPTER III. 

Indian Affairs during the Republic. — Fight in Robertson's Colony in 
1837. — Near San Antonio — 1838. — Battle Creek, in Navarro County. 
^Attack on Morgan's and Marlin's Families, in 1839. — Expulsion of 
the Cherokees. — Bloody Wox-k in the Council House, San Antonio, 
1840. — Comanches Burn Victoria and Liunville, and are Defeated at 
Plum Creek. — Moore's Expedition to the Upper Colorado. — From 
1841 to 1847. — Recovery of Miss Putnam, after a long Separation 
fi'om her Family. ----.-,-._ 457 

CHAPTER IV. 

JS'umber of Indians in Texas at Annexation. — Indian Reserves. — Pros- 
perous, but Soon Broken Up.— Dove Creek Fight.— ^calping of Mrs. 
J'riend. — ^Texas now Free from Indian Raids. - - - . 467 



PART VIII. 

BIOGRAPHIES. 



A. 

Allen, Ebenezer. — Allen, Houston Family. — Allen, John M. — Almonte, 
Don Juan N- — Anderson, K. L. — Archer, Branch T. — Arredondo, 
Joaquinde. — Austin, Moses. — Austin, Stephen Fuller — Austin, J. 
Brown. — Austin, Henry. — Austin, John. — Austin, William T. - - 477 

B. 

Baker, Mosely. — Barrett, D. C. — Bastrop, Baron, P. N. Tut. — Baylor, 
E. B. — Bean, Ellis P. — Beaumont, Jefferson. — Bee, Bernard E. — Be- 
lisle, Monseur De. — Bell, Josiah H. — Bell, P. Hansborough. — Ben- 
nett, Joseph H. — Billingsly, Jesse. — Bogart, Samuel A. — Borden, 
Gail Jr. — Borden, John P. — Borden, Thomas H. — Bowie, James. — 
Bradburn. Juan Davis. — Brenham, Dr. R. F. — Briscoe, Andrew. — 
Brigham, Asa. — Brown, Henry S. — Brown, John. — Bryan, Moses 
Austin. — Bryan, Guy M. — Burleson, Edward. — Burleson, Ed. Jr. — 
Burnet, David G. — Burr, Aaron. — Bustemente, Anastasio. - - 498 

C. 

Calder, R. J.— Caldwell, J.— Caldwell, M.— Callahan, J. H.— Cameron, 
Ewin. — Cameron, Dr. John. — Carson, Samuel P. — Castrillon, Gen- 



XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

eral. — Castro, Heni*y. — Cazneau, William L. — Chalmers, Dr. John 
G. — Chambers, Thomas Jefferson. — Childress, George C. — Cole, John 
P. — Coleman, Robert M. — Chriesman, Horatio. — Coke, Richard. — 
Collinsworth, James. — Cook, William G. — Cook, Lewis P. — Cordero, 
Antonio. — Cortinas, Juan N.— Cos, Martin Perfecto. — Crockett, 
David. 619 

D. 

Darnell, Nicholas H. — Davenport, Samuel. — Davis, Edmond J. — Davis, 
H. Clay. — Dawson, Nicholas H. — DeLeon, Martin. — Dimitt, Philip. — 
Duval, John C— Duval, Thomas H. 529 

E. 

Edwai-ds, Hayden.-Edwards, Monroe. — ElisondoDon,Y.— Ellis. Rich- 
ard. — Evans, Lemuel Dale. ---- . . .- 531 

F. 

Fannin, James W. — Fields, Richard.— Fields, William. — Flores, Manu- 
el.— Fisher, S. Rhoads.— Ford, Dr. John S.— Franklin, B. C. - - 532 

G. 

Gaines, Jas. — Galves, Don Jose Bernardo. — Gates Family. — Giddings, 
Giles A. — Giddings, J. D. — Giddings, John James. — Giddings, 
George H. — Giddings, D. C. — Gillespie, James. — Gillespie, R. A. — 
Grant, Dr. James. — Gray, William Fairfax. — Gray, Peter W. — Gray- 
son, Peter W. — Green, Tom. — Green, Thomas Jefferson. — Gregg, 
John. — Grimes, Jesse. — Groce, Jared E. — Gutierres, Bernardo. - - 540' 

H. 

Hall, Warren, D. C. — Hall, C. K. — Hamilton, James. — Hamilton, Mor- 
gan C. — Hamilton, Andrew J. — Hancock, John Handy, R. A. — 

Hansford, John M. — Hardeman, Baily. — Hawkins, Charles. — Haw- 
kins, Joseph H. — Hays, John C. — Heard, Wm. J. E. — Hemphill, 
John. — Henderson, J. Pinckney. — Herrera, Simon De. — Herrera, 

Jose Manuel. — Hewitson, Dr. James. — Highsmith, Samuel. Hill, 

B. F.— Hockley, George W. — Horton, Albert C. — Houston, Sam.— 
Howard, George T.— Howard, Volney E.— Hubbard, Richard B — 
Hunt, Memucan— Hunter, Wm. L.— Hunter, John Dunn.— Huston, 

Felix. 54» 

I. 

Ingram, Ira.— Ingram, Seth.—Isbell, Wm. 570. 

J- 

Jack, Patrick C— Jack, AVm. H.— Johnson, Frank W.— Johnson, Mo- 
ges.—johnson, M. T.— Johnston, Albert Sidney.— Jones, Dr. 
Anson.- Jones, Oliver.— Jones, Randal.- Jordan, S. W. - - - 570' 

K. 

Karnes, Henry.— Kaufman, David S.— Keenan, Dr. C. G.— Kemper, 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XV. 

PAGE. 

Samuel.— Kendall, George Wilkins.— Kerr, James.— Kinney, H.— 
L.— Kuykendall, Abner. g-.g 

L. 

Labadie, Dr. N. D.— Lafitte, Jean.-Lallemand, General.— Lamar, 
Mirabeau B.— Lasalle, Robert.— Lathrop, J. T. K.— Lester, John 
S.— Lewis, Ira A.— Lewis, Wm. P.— Lipscomb, Abner S.— Linn, 

J-J- - ' 580 

M. 

Manchaca, Antonio.— Margil, Father.— Martin, TVylie.— Maverick, 
Samuel A.— McCulloch, Benjamin.— McHenry, John.— McFarland' 
Thomas S.— McKiuney, Collin.— McKinney, Thomas F.— McLcod* 
Hugh.— Menefee, Wm.— Mexia, Juan Antonio.— Milam, Benjamin 
R.— Millard, Henry.— Miller, Dr. James B.— Mina, Xavier.— Moore, 
Commodore E. 17.— Moore, Dr. Francis, Jr.— Moore, John H.— Mor- 
gan, James.— Murrah, Pendleton. 5g7 

N. 

Navarro, Jose Antonio.— Neighbors, R. S.— Neil, John C— Newell 
John D. ---.._. _ * .„„ 

- • - • - 596 

O. 

Odin, Bishop J. M.— Ochiltree, Wm. B.— Oldham, Wm. S.-Owen 

^^^'^^' - - -596 

P. 

Padilla, Juan Antonio.— Parker, Isaac— Patrick, George M.— Pease, 
ElishaM.— Parmer, Martin— Peebles, Dr. R. R.— Perry, Henry— Per- 
ry, James F.-Pillsbury, Timothy— Potter, Robert— Powers, James- 
Putnam, Mitchell. eg- 

R. 

Rains, Emory— Reagan, John H.— Riley, James— Roberts, Samuel A.— 
Robertson, Sterling C— Robertson, Dr. Jerome B.— Robinson, 
James W.— Robinson, John C— Robinson, Joel W.— Roman, Richard 
Ross— Ross, Reuben— Royall, R. R.— Runnels. Hiram G.— Runnels, 
Hardin R.— Rusk, Thomas Jefferson— Russell, Wm. J. - - - 599 

S. 

Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez de.— Scurry, Richardson.— Scurry, Wil- 
liam R.— Seguin, Don Erasmo.— Seguin, Juan N.— Shackleford, Dr. 
John.— Shaw, James.— Sherman, Sidney.— Smith, Dr. Ashb'el.— 
Smith, Ben. Fort.— Smith, Erasmus (Deaf.)— Smith, Henry.— Smith, 
James.— Smith, Thomas I.-Smyth, George W.— Somervell, Alexan- 
der.— Stapp, Dai-win M.— Sterne, Adolphus.— Stewart, Dr. C. B.— 
Sutherland, George.— Swisher, James G. gjj 



XVI. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

T. 

Tarrant, E. H — Teel, Henry. — Teran, J. Mier y.— Throckmorton, J. 
W.— Toledo, Don Alvarez —Torry Family.— Travis, Wm. B.— 
Turner, Amasa. -----.-.-. 625 

V. 

Vanzant, Isaac. .---------- 629 

V/. 

Walker, Samuel H.— Waller, Edwin— Ward, Thomas William.— Wat- 
rou5, John C. — Webb, James. — Wharton, Wm. H. — Wharton, John 
A. — White, S. Addison. — Wilbarger Family. — Williams, Augustus 
W.— WiUiams, Robert H.— Williams, Samuel M.— Williamson, E. 
M.— Wilson, James C— Wilson, Robert.— Wood, George T. - 629 

Y. 
Yoakum, Henderson. — Young, William C. - - - . - 635 

Z. 
Zapata, Antonio. — Zavalla, Lorenzo de. -..--- 635 



PART IX. 

HISTOR Y—CO U2TTIE8. 



Contains a list of all the counties, alphabetically arranged; ■with his- 
torical notes, brief descriptions, etc., etc. . - - - . 6^ 



PART X. 

MISCELLAXEOUS ITEMS, 

Alphhabetically arranged. — Agricultural Products. — Cotton, Com, 
Oats, Potatoes, Sugar and Molasses, Tobacco, Wheat, etc. ; Reports 
from the Agricultural Department, Washington. Asylums. — Blind, 
Deaf and Dumb, Orphan, Lunatic. Buildings. — Public, Capitol, 
Supreme Court, Land Office, Treasury Building, Governor's House. 
Churches, their History etc.— Catholic, Baptist, Christian, Episcopal, 
Methodist Episcopal, South, and M. E. Church, Protestant Methodist, 
African Methodist, Presbyterian, Presbyterian Cumberland. Census 
Statistics. Commerce. — Debt, State Education, its history in the 
State, Illiteracy, Scholastic Population, by Counties. Schools— Ag- 
ricultural College, etc. Live Stock. — Cattle, Goats, Horses and 
Mules, Sheep. PEyiTEKTiARY — Its history ; provision for a second. 
Population at different Periods. Railroads — History and Progress 
of Railroads in the State ; their Stations. Statistics of Wealth at dif- 
ferent Periods, Assessed Value of Property, Taxes, ad valorem and 
Poll in all the Counties, for 1877. Telegraph Lines. , - - 7'>2, 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

liE:M:S'AXT OF THE OLD FORT OF THE ALAMO Frontispiece. 

COLOEADO EH-EE. :^L\TAGOEDA COUXTT S" 

SCEXE OX THE CAXADLiX EH^EE 43 

SCEXE OX BEAZOS EIVEE, XEAE MAET.rV 53 

FEEEY, CO:SIAL Em:E 63 

SCEXE OX THE MISSISSIPPI IX THE TIME OF LA SALLE 78 

IXDLVXS S3 

LA SALLE'S MAP OF TEXAS S6 

MISSIOX OF SAX JOSE 93 

IXDIAX H0ESE:MEX 103 

GYPEESS CEEEK. XEWTOX COL'XTY 113 

TEESLTT ERTIE, SCEXE XEAE LIBEETT 123 

LAFITTE 133 

THE OLD COXCEPCIOX MISSION, XEAR SAX AXTOXIO 1 43 

CATHEDEAL DE SAX FEEXAXDO 153 

BOWEX'S BEXD. SAX AXTOXIO EFVEE 163 

SAXTA AX'XA 173 

FOET OX THE TTESTEEX BOEDER 1S3 

STEPHEX F. AUSTIX 193 

MEXICAN'S 203 

SAM HOUSTOX 213 

EDWARD BLTELESOX 223 

ELTN'S OF THE SAX JOSE MISSIOX 233 

GROTJSD PLAX OF THE ALAMO 240 

STOEMLN'G OF THE ALA3I0 243 

SCOI'TIXG 253 

HOUSTOX DICTATIXG OEDEES TO ADJL'TAXT HOCKLEY 263 

BATTLE GROrXD OF SAX JACIXTO 269 

DA^TD G. BLTIXET 273 

A :MEXICAX JACAL 2S3 

OLD CAPITOL, HOUSTOX 293 

MIEABEAU B. LAMAE .303 



xviii. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page . 

THE TOWN OF SAN ANTONIO DE BEXAR. TEXAS, 1840 3l3 

DAVID CROCKETT 323 

URSULINE C0N\T:NT, SAN ANTONIO 333 

ANSON J0NT:S 343 

INDIAN WAR DANCE 353 

^CENE NEAR FORT MASON 363 

373 



E. M. PEASE.... 
ELLIS P. BEAN. 

F. R. LUBBOCK 



.383 
.393 



STERLING C. ROBERTSON. . • • ^03 

CADDO CHIEF ^^3 

PLACIDO, CHIEF TONKAWAS ^-3 

EDMLT^D J. DAVIS = ^33 

COMANCHE WARRIOR 443 

A CHIEF OF THE KIOWAS 453 

BATTLE CREEK FIGHT, NAVARRO COUNTY, 1838 463 

TRADING WITH THE INDIANS 473 

RICHARD COKE 483 

RICHARD B. HUBBARD 493 

HOUSTON ANT) SANTA ANNA 503 

TOM GREEN 513 

THOS. F. McKINNEY 523 

vJOHN CALDWELL 533 

O. M. ROBERTS 543 

. THOS. J. RUSK 553 

, SIDNEY SHERMAN 563 

.THOS. WjVI. ward 573 

1/ R. M. WILLIAMSON 583 

HOUSTON PIERCED WITH AN ARROW 593 

MONUMENT ERECTED TO THE HEROES OF THE ALAMO 603 

PIONEER SUNDAY SCHOOL 6]3 

CAPITOL AT AUSTIN, IN 1870 623 

RUINS OF LAFITTE'S FORT 633 

COURT HOUSE, PARIS 643 

COURT HOUSE, SHERMAN 653 



LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. xix. 

Page. 
SCENE ON COMAL KIVEK 6G3 

COURT HOUSE, DALLAS 673 

VIEW OF SAN ANTONIO, IN 1878 683 

COURT HOUSE, AUSTIN 693 

METHODIST CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, CORPUS CHRISTI 703 

GOVERNOR'S MANSION, AUSTIN 713 

COURT HOUSE, FORT WORTH 723 

iMASONIC TEMPLE AT PALESTINE, L & G. N. R. R 733 

VIEW OF AUSTIN FROM THE DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM 739 

TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE, AUSTIN 745 

OLEANDER GROVE, TEXAS 75I 

LAND OFFICE OF TEXAS, AUSTIN 757 

MARKET HOUSE, HOUSTON 763 

VIEW OF SAN PEDRO SPRINGS, SAN ANTONIO 769 

FORMER MILITARY HEADQUARTERS, SAN ANTONIO 775 

COMAL RIVER NEAR NEW BRAUNFELS 781 

VIEW OF COMMERCE STREET, SAN ANTONIO 787 

MASONIC HEADQUARTERS OF STATE, HOUSTON 793 

POST OFFICE, GALVESTON 799 

CORNFIELD, BRAZOS BOTTOM, ROBERTSON COUNTY, I. & G. N. 

^- R 805 

TREMONT STREET, GALVESTON 811 

STATE INSANE ASYLUM, AUSTIN 817 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PALESTDO: 823 

SPANISH FANDANGO 829 

RAILROAD BRIDGE, BRAZOS RIVER NEAR HEARNE, I. & G. N. R. R.835 

ARANSAS BAY §41 

COLORADO RIVER BRIDGE, AUSTIN, L & G. N. R. R 847 

BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF HOUSTON 853- 



PART I. 

General Description, 



CHAPTER I. 



NAME— TEXAS CLAIMED BY SPAIN AND FRANCE— BOUNDARIES— AREA— GENERAL 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTRY. 



/TV HE name of Texas was derived from an Indian tribe 
J- belonging to the great Caddo family. The country 
now known as Texas has, at various periods, borne dif- 
ferent names. In old m~aps that on the north is called 
Texas, or New Phillipines ; while that farther to the 
west is marked as Coahuila or New Estremadura. For 
more than a century the territory was claimed both bv 
France and Spain. The Spaniards were the first occu- 
pants. In 1522 De Narves traversed the country from 
the Rio Grande to Mobile. Again, in 1537, De Nisa vis- 
ited the Rio Grande, entering the village of Isleta, then 
inhabited by Puebla Indians; and in 1540 Coronado 
took formal possession of the village, in the name of the 
Spanish crown. Under the ministrations of the mission- 
aries, the inhabitants readily embraced the Christian 
faith. In 1585 another coixy^any of missionaries, under 
Espejo, took possession of El Paso and Santa Fe. 

The claim of the French was based upon the landing 
of LaSalle, with his colony, on the coast, in 1685. On 
the old French maps Texas is put down as a part of Lou- 
isiana. The old Spanish maps, however, claimed it as 



18 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

belonging to ]^ew Spain. In those old maps, the differ- 
ent provinces of New Spain are marked as follows : The 
east line of JVew ]\Iexico reaches to the Pecos River, in- 
cluding part of the present counties of Tom Green and 
Crockett. The Medina river is marked as the east line 
of Coahuila, though a narrow strip attached to Texas ex- 
tended to the mouth of the Rio Grande. In these old 
maps the Calcasieu is j^ut down as the boundary near the 
coast, and the Hondo, a tril)utary of Red River, near 
JSTatchitoches, as the line between the possessions of the 
French and Spanish crowns.* 

The ownership of Texas had not been fully settled, 
when, in 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United 
States. The latter government wanted both Texas and 
Florida, neither of which Spain was willing to surrender. 
Finally, in 1819, February 22, an agreement was entered 
into between John Quincy Adams, on the part of the 
United States, and De Onis, on the part of Mexico, by 
which Spain transferred Florida to the United States, and 
the latter gave up her claim to Texas. At the period of 
the Texas revolution the northern boundary was still un- 
detined; several large settlements on the south side of 
Red river were claimed both by Arkansas and Texas. 
In a final adjustment in 1849, in which G.W. Smyth rep- 
resented Texas, and J. W. Overton the United States, 
the most of this disputed territory, including portions of 
Bowie and Red River counties, were conceded to Texas, 
y At the period of annexation the boundaries of the re- 



*By a royal charter, dated Sept. 14, 1712, Louis XTV granted the whole 
of l>ouisiaiui to Anthony Crozat. Mr. Yoakum and other liistorians have 
asserted that this grant inckided all the country to the Rio Grande ; where- 
as the language of the charter included only the country watered by the 
Mississippi and its tributaries. 



BOUNDARIES AND AREA. 19 

public, as estimated by Mr. Smyth, the Commissioner of 
the G-eneral Land Office, were as follows : 

The distance from the mouth of the Rio Grande along our coast 

to the mouth of the Sabine 375 miles 

From mouth of Sabine, by the river, to 32d parallel 299 - 

Up Sabine river to Red river, due north 106 " 

From point of intersection with Red river to 100th degree of long- 
itude west g20 " 

On the meridian of 100th degree due north to Arkansas river 250 " 

Along Arkansas river to source of Rio Grande 640 " 

Entire eastern and northern boundary 1 915 u 

From source of Rio Grande to its mouth 2 240 " 

Making the entire boundary of the Republic 4 530 " \ 

By the sale of Santa Fe, in 1850, Texas parted with 
'98,360 square miles of territory; equal to 56,240,640 
acres. 

Texas is bounded on the south by the gulf of Mexico ; 
on the east by the Sabine river, up to the thirty-second 
parallel of north latitude ; thence due north to Red river, 
thence along said river to the meridian of one hundred 
degrees west from Grreenwich ; thence due north to the 
intersection of parallel of thirty-six degrees, thirty min- 
utes, north latitude ; thence due west to the meridian of 
one hundred and three degrees west from Greenwich ; 
due south to the thirty-second degree of north latitude ;' 
thence along said line to the Rio Grande ; (these lines' 
separate Texas from Louisiana, Arkansas, the Indian 
Territory, and New Mexico.) thence down said Rio 
Grande to its mouth, separating Texas from Mexico. 
According to Disturnell's treaty mdp, published in 1850, 
Texas had, after the sale of Santa Fe, 237,3 21 square 
miles of territory, equal to 151,885,440 acres. Later 
estimates from our own land office give the State 268,684 



20 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

square miles ; this exclusive of Greer county. It extends 
from about twenty-five and one half degrees to thirty-six 
and one half, north latitude, and from ninety-three and a 
half to one hundred and seven degrees of longitude west 
from Greenwich. Its greatest extent from north to south 
is nearly one thousand miles, and it is but little less from 
east to west. 

Texas, thus situated on the Gulf of Mexico, stretches 
half-way to the Pacific Ocean, in a climate where snows 
are almost unknown, and lies right in the track along 
which the vast commerce from the East to the West 
must ultimately flow. The great continental railway is 
destined inevitably to traverse this territory, and some of 
its eastern termini must be at some of its seaports. 

In those portions of the State devoted to agriculture, a 
large proportion of the land is susceptible of cultivation, 
and immense bodies are as rich and fertile as can be found 
on the continent. This is true, not only of the alluvial bot- 
toms, but also of a considerable proportion of the prairie 
lands of the interior. 

Writers speak of the stock region ; of the sugar belt ; 
of the cotton belt, and the wheat region ; but in truth 
every kind of stock, such as horses, mules, cattle, sheep, 
goats, hogs, etc., do well in all parts of the State, and can 
be raised with profit anywhere by giving the necessary 
attention to them. Soof the soil products. Every arable 
acre of ground in the State will produce corn, cotton, 
sorghum, potatoes, Irish or sweet, peaches, grapes, etc. 
Sugar from the ribbon cane may be profitably cultivated 
anywhere south of the thirtieth parallel of north latitude ; 
and wheat, rye, oats, apples, etc., anywhere north of that 
latitude. 

The coast counties for a distance of fifty to one hun* 
dred miles interior are quite level, but beyond, the coun- 



THE CLIMATE. 21 

try becomes rolling, with alternate gradual elevations and 
depressions, and this inequality of surface increases as we 
proceed towards the northwest, until it finally becomes 
hilly and then mountainous in some of the northwestern 
counties. In fact the whole of Texas is an inclined plane, 
with a gradual descent from the northern or western 
boundary to the Gulf. Austin and San Antonio are six 
hundred feet above the Gulf surface, and the country 
farther north is still more elevated. The highest of 
the mountains do not, however, exceed two thousand feet 
above their base. 

It seems to be a general impression with people abroad 
that Texas is unhealthy ; that the climate is excessively 
hot ; and that foreigners especially run a great risk in 
coming to a State so far south. Nothing can be more re- 
mote from the truth, as thousands of foreigners from all 
parts of Europe can testify. The temperature in Texas 
in the hottest days of summer is nearly always several 
degrees below the greatest heat at the JN'orth, and while 
many deaths in most of the JSTorthern cities occur every 
year from sun stroke, there is not, perhaps, a well authen- 
ticated instance in Texas of a single death from this cause. 
But a comparison of the range of the thermometer there 
and here removes all doubt on that subject. In winter 
the difference in temperature between Texas and the 
Northern States is still more manifest, the severity of 
the cold being many degrees greater there than here. 
The fact is established beyond doubt that Texas has the 
most uniform, equable and mild temperature of any State 
in the Union, neither the heat or the cold being so exces- 
sive, and, other things being equal, this exemption from 
the extremes of heat and cold is prima facie evidence of 
a more healthful climate. But this evidence is corrobor- 
ated by experience, for although certain diseases are prev- 



22 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

alent in many parts of Texas, yet the general health of 
the country is not surpassed, if equaled, by any other 
State, while for salubrity of the climate all Western Tex- 
as is proverbial. The whole sea coast, for more than a 
hundred miles interior, is fanned by a most delightful and 
health-giving breeze from the Grulf during all the sum- 
mer months. 

It is true that in the heavily-timbered bottoms, and on 
the margins of the sluggish streams and lowlands, peo- 
ple are liable to chills and fevers and other malarial 
diseases ; but these generally yield readily to proper treat- 
ment. The interior, especially of Western Texas, is an- 
nually visited by thousands of invalids seeking health ; 
and those who come before disease has fastened itself too 
firmly upon the system are generally greatly benefitted. 



CHAPTER II. 



GENERAL DIVISIONS OF THE STATE — NORTH TEXAS— EAST TEXAS— MIDDLE TEX- 
AS — WEST TEXAS — NORTHWEST TEXAS — SOUTHWEST TEXAS— THE MINERAL 
REGION— THE PAN HANDLE. 



cET^OIl convenience in describing our great State, we 
-L divide it into districts. I. North Texas. II. East 
Texas. III. Middle Texas. lY. West Texas. V. North- 
west Texas. YI. Southwest Texas. YII. The Mineral 
Region. YIII. The Pan Handle or Staked Plains. 

I. Northern Texas. — This includes a double or triple 
tier of counties on the south side of Red river, as far 
west as the counties of Wise, Montague, Erath, etc., 
some thirty counties or more. 

An area of about twelve counties of the eastern part 
of this division would more properly have been included 
in the division of East Texas, as it much more nearly 
corresponds in all its characteristics with the entire body 
of timbered country lying east of the Trinity than with 
any part of the prairie to which this division attaches it. 
The two subdivisions can not be described together, as 
they are as different from each other as day from night in 
every characteristic. 

This eastern body of country, generally denominated 
Northeastern Texas, is one of the most interesting and 
important subdivisions of the State, whether considered 
with reference to its population, its capacities for agricul- 
tural production, or its location with regard to the necessi- 



24 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ties of trade and travel, and the consequent construction 
of thoroughfares. An imaginary irregular line drawn 
from the town of Clarksville, in Red River county, through 
the northwest corners of Titus Wood, and Yan Zandt 
counties, and the southeast corner of Kaufman county to 
the south line of this division, will sufficiently indicate the 
western or outside line of this subdivision. 

All east of this is a timbered country, and presents the 
same general features. The face of the country is rolling 
and hilly. The soil is generally sandy, mixed with loam 
in varying quantities in different localities, and productive 
in porportion to such admixture. The exceptions to the 
sandy soil are the ferruginous red soils, quite productive 
with plenty of rain ; the post-oak flats, and swamps along 
the streams, the latter two valueless for cultivation but 
covered with fine timber. The streams are sluffs-ish and 
discolored, and the low bottom-lands which border them 
are subject to overflow ; but many of them are covered 
with cane and various grasses, which afford fine shelter 
and food for stock, especially horses, w^hich keep fat the 
year round without food or attention, but are liable to the 
contingent dangers of an overflow, in which numbers are 
sometimes lost. The most productive lands lie between 
the sand-hills and the swamps, and frequently up to the 
margins of the smaller creeks, and are a kind of irregu- 
lar second bottom. They will produce, the season being 
favorable, a bale of cotton or forty bushels of corn per 
acre, while the upland sand-lands will produce about 
one half that amount, but are preferred by many on 
account of the greater case with which they can be culti- 
vated, and the advantage they have in wet seasons. These 
lands are in some places underlaid with a stiff clay at the 
depth of a foot, while in other places in the same field one 
may dig forty feet through sand alone. 



TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN TEXAS. 25 

The timber of this section is very valuable, especially 
the pine, \vhich abounds ; extensive steam saw-mills being 
found in the pineries of these counties, from which lum- 
ber is hauled on wagons more than two hundred miles 
westward to supply the constantly increasing wants of the 
j^rairie section. The other timber is mostly post-oak, 
interspersed with hickory, black-jack, etc. The bottoms 
abound in all kinds of oaks, ash, hackberry, and many 
other kinds of timber. 

Water in this section is abundant and generally good — 
entirely freestone. Springs, pure as crystal,are frequent, 
breaking out from the base or sides of the sand-hills, and 
good water can generally be obtained, by digging, at from 
twenty to thirty feet ; the exceptions to this being in the 
post-oak flats, where good water is scarce, either above or 
below the surface. 

Immediately west of this imaginary line commences 
the great prairie region of Northern and Middle Texas. 
The " divide," or water-shed between Red river and 
the Gulf of Mexico is distant from a half to forty miles 
from the former. Along Red river is a border of a rather 
rugged country from one half to twelve miles wide, mostly 
covered with timber, and abounding in springs of water ; 
but mostly with a thin sandy soil adapted to small farmers, 
except the Red river bottoms, which are extensive and 
exceedingly fertile, and subject to occasional overflows. 
South of this fringe of timber, and with a northern front 
of from Lamar to Clay County, (one hundred and fifty 
miles on an air-line,) inclining westward on its eastern 
border, as before laid down, lies the great prairie, extend- 
ing to the south line of this division, its unity broken only 
by the timber borders along the streams and by the two 
very remarkable bodies of timber called " The Cross 
Timbers," which are worthy of a brief description. 



26 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The " lower cross timber" is a body of timbered country 
embracing, at its northern extremity, the eastern half of 
Cooke county and western edge of Grayson, and being 
about fifteen miles wide. Running southward, it passes, 
gradually becoming narrower, through the east parts of 
Denton, Tarrant and Johnson, and west part of Hill 
county, to the Brazos river at Fort Graham. This 
body of land is rolling and sandy, and assimilates very 
nearly to the timbered section before described ; but this 
is generally of a poorer soil than that, and abounds less 
in springs and w'ater as a rule. The timber is the same, 
except there is no pine, and the growth is shorter as we 
go westward. The soil is adapted to the growth of corn, 
cotton, sweet potatoes, etc., but not to small grains nor 
grasses, nor to stock raising, except in the eastern section. 

The " uj^per cross timber " begins on Red river, some 
thirty miles above the lower, and is about the same width, 
running south through the middle of Montague county,, 
near the south line of which it breaks up, the eastern 
portion running through Wise and Parker counties, while 
the w^estern extends irregularly, and frequently in patches 
and mots or small groves, through Jack, Young, Palo Pinto 
and Erath, affording abundant timber (such as it is) to 
those counties. This timber is, on the uplands, almost 
exclusively post-oak and black-jack, and is short and 
scrubby. In the bottoms, pecan, ash, hackberry, cotton- 
wood, etc., are common. 

The entire prairie east of the upper cross timber is a 
beautiful and very gently rolling country, scarcely broken 
by rocks, stumps, gullies, or anything else which could 
impede or interfere with the progress of gang-plows, 
reapers and mowers, or any other agricultural labor- 
saving machinery, whether propelled by steam or other 
power. Indeed, the cultivation of wheat has for years been 



TABLE LANDS AND MOUNTAINS. 27 

done by the use of such implements, propelled by horse or 
ox-power. 

Near the south line of Montague and Clay counties 
commence the " mountains," which though not so " stuck 
up " as their distant relations, the Alleghany, Blue Ridge, 
Rocky Mountains, etc., w^hich hold their heads much 
higher, are still fully entitled to the appellation of mount- 
ains ; as, though only moderate hills in point of altitude, 
they are mountains in character, with rocky precipices 
and ledges and spurs, and abounding in fhe necessary num- 
ber of wild beasts and rattlesnakes. Many of these 
mountains are isolated mounds or cones, either perfect or 
truncated, rising from a base of table land, on which, in 
many places, travel by wagons is easy through the entire 
range to the level prairie on the other side. Some of these 
hills and ridges are covered with timber, while others are 
bald and bare. This range is from thirty to sixty miles 
wide, and extends southwardly to near San Antonio, the 
cities of Austin and New-Braunfels being on its eastern 
border , and the rivers of San Marcos, Guadalui:)e and 
San Antonio break out from its base. But this is out of 
our present latitude. Between these mountain ridges are 
many valleys of great fertility and beauty, some of them 
large enough for farms of 640 acres, arable land, but 
most of them smaller. Much of the prairie adjacent 
to this region is covered with stones, so as to render it 
unfit for cultivation, but furnishes material for building 
and fencing, which, in the absence of good timber, will 
be much used as the country is settled. These mountains, 
further south, are covered with cedar in many places, 
which is the most valuable fencing timber known. This 
mountain country forms the w^estern line of settlement 
along its whole extent. 

II. East Texas includes about twenty counties, lying 



28 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

between the Trinity river and the State line on the east, 
and extends from the southern boundary of Northern 
Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. This is the great timber 
region of the State, Immense tracts are covered with the 
finest forests of pine, and other valuable timber growths. 
The counties bordering on the coast, and as far inland as 
Liberty, are generally flat, and considerable portions of 
this region are prairie, and admirably adapted to stock 
raising. Numerous rivers and creeks traverse all parts 
of East Texas. Many of these are navigable, and furnish 
means of transporting their lumber to market. Further 
inland the surface becomes, first gently undulating, and 
then hilly ; but still heavily timbered, and possessing a 
rich soil. During the early period in our history the red 
lands, as they were called, in JNTacogdoches, San Augus- 
tine and adjoining counties, were considered equal to any 
in Texas. 

III. Middle Texas lies below Northern Texas, and 
embraces all the territory to the Gulf between the Trin- 
ity and Colorado rivers. It has some twenty-five counties. 
This has been called the garden of Texas. For fertility, 
the alluvial bottom lands of the Brazos, the Colorado 
and other rivers and creeks of this division, have been 
compared to the delta of the Nile. The coast region is 
flat, and stretches out into broad and beautiful prairies, 
intersected with a perfect net-work of creeks and 
bayous, along which are skirts of valuable timber. In 
the tier of counties bordering on the Gulf is found the 
best land for the production of sugar in the State ; while 
in the more rolling counties of the interior, cotton is the 
staple product. This district has the two large commer- 
cial cities of Galveston and Houston, and Austin, the 
State capital. 

IV. West Texas. — In common language, West Texas 



GENEEAL DIVISIONS OF TEXAS. 29 

includes all west of the Colorado river ; but in this division 
we include the country between the Colorado at Austin 
on the north-east, and Bexar county on the south-west ; 
and the Colorado and San Antonio rivers to the Gulf. 
This division has about twenty counties. It has Indianola 
as a sea-port, and the old cities of Victoria, Goliad and 
San Antonio. The physical features are very similar to 
those of Middle Texas, already described. 

V. K'oeth-West Texas. — This includes about forty 
counties lying north of Bexar, and extending to the 
western line of Kimble county, and thence to the Red 
river, including the county of Greer, and all eastward to 
North Texas. The general description of the western 
division of Northern Texas answers as well for this 
division. It is a region 'of vast extent, and inexhaust- 
ible, though as yet undeveloped resources, mineral and 
agricultural. 'No portion of our great State is filling up 
so rapidly, and no country on the globe offers greater 
inducements to immigrants. 

VI. South- w^EST Texas. — This includes all the country 
south of Crockett county, between the San Antonio and 
Rio Grande rivers, to the Gulf ; about twenty counties. 
Corpus Christi and Brownsville are the principal cities. 
The following description of this division is taken from 
the Texas Almanac of 1868. It is from the pen of ex- 
Governor E. J. Davis, who was, for a number of years, 
judge of the Brownsville district : 

" A sketch of the history, climate, topography and pro- 
ductions of that part of the State termed South-western 
Texas, being the country between the Rio Grande and 
San Antonio rivers, and south-east of the road from San 
Antonio to Eagle Pass, on the Rio Grande, embracing 
about thirty thousand square miles, is what I propose to 
give you. 



30 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" Its history is not interesting. After the establishment 
of San Antonio, (named Bexar by the Spaniards and 
Mexicans,) a great many years seem to have elapsed 
before any permanent settlements were attempted in the 
country between that port and the towns and garrisons of 
the Spaniards west of the Rio Grande. The first, I 
believe, in point of time, was that of Barrego, who 
shortly before the middle of last century planted a 
stock-raising hacienda at the place called ' Dolores,' on 
the Rio Grande, twenty-five miles below Laredo. He 
received at this place from the King of Spain a large 
grant of lands, some seventy -five leagues. This hacienda 
was afterward destroyed. 

" In the year 1757, the town of Laredo was founded. 
This place was a sort of " Presidio," where the citizens 
were armed occupants of the soil, and it proved the only 
permanent settlement of the Spaniards on the lower 
Rio Grande. After the establishment of Laredo, ranches 
and haciendas were gradually extended over the country 
between the T^ueces and Rio Grande, and during the first 
quarter of this century very extensive herds of cattle and 
horses and flocks of sheep were pastured on and between 
those rivers. The remains of the stone buildings and the 
wells and water-tanks are still to be seen. The troublous 
times following the attempts of the Mexican people to sep- 
arate from Spain invited the savage tribes of the Xorth — 
which had been kept in better subjection under the system 
adopted by old Spain than they have ever been since — 
to make raids upon the frontier settlements. The Texas 
revolution and subsequent border warfare gave the fin- 
ishing touch to this country, and when our troops, under 
General Taylor, marched from Corpus Christi to the Rio 
Grande, in 1846, there was not an inhabitant to be found 
between that river and the Nueces. It had the appear- 



SOUTHWESTEEN TEXAS. 31 

;tnce of a desert to the officers and soldiers of that army, 
unused as they were to these treeless pampas. The herds 
of cattle and horses, left to take care of themselves, had 
become wild, and greatly increased, and "mustangs," 
grazed over these plains in almost countless numbers. 

" In the year 1850, the re-population of this country 
fairly commenced. The ' mustangs ' were killed or 
caught and tamed, and this ' so-called ' desert has been 
steadily filling with a hardy and active race of stock- 
raisers. 

" The climate of this country is very similar to that of 
the same longitude as far north as Kansas and Colorado. 
It is decidedly an unfavorable climate for agriculture, 
and unless some system can be devised for irrigation, the 
main dependence must always be upon the flocks and 
herds. It is unseasonable, but this is not so much for 
want of rain, because, on taking the average fall of rain 
for a number of years through the district, it is shown 
that we have ample supplies for all purposes, could they 
come at the right time and in proper quantities. In the 
usual planting season of the year, from the first of Jan- 
uary to the end of May, we have our dry season. Often 
it happens that scarcely enough rain falls during those 
months to 'wet a pocket-handkerchief,' w^hile, on the 
other hand, the torrents that are let down on us durino: 
the other months will give us an average of twenty-five 
to thirty inches of water throughout the year. ' When 
it rains, it rains ' in this country ; sometimes with a 
quantity and suddenness only equalled, I suppose, in the 
mountains of California and JN'evada. There are no 
mountains, or even respectable hills, in Ts'ueces county ; 
yet several instances have occurred of a flood of water 
rolling down a narrow ravine with such rapidity as to 
take off^ a flock of sheep, and in one instance the shepherd 
with it. 



32 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" If it should ever be possible to utilize this wattrf in 
some, as yet, undiscovered way, this country would be the 
finest in the world. The climate, owing to the dryness of 
the winter and spring, is as healthy as could be desired. 
Perhaj^s something may be done by making tanks on a 
large scale, and thus collecting the surplus rains for use 
in the dry seasons. One of these has been made by 
Hipolito Garcia, the owner of the Hacienda called ' Aren- 
dado,' in Zapata county. He has, by throwing a dam 
across a ravine, created quite an extensive lake, capable 
not only of supplying water for his thousands of cattle, 
sheep and horses, but of being used for irrigating pur- 
poses. 

" But our wet and dry seasons are not distinctly defined, 
nor are the rains equally distributed over the whole of 
this region. Sometimes general rains fall during the 
dry season ; and on the other hand, it happens that we 
do not in the wet season have the usual share. It is also 
noticed that more rain falls in the neighborhood of the 
San Antonio valley, and near the Gulf coast. The rule 
is, that less rain falls as you proceed north ajid west. 

" In other respects, our climate is such as might be ex- 
pected in this latitude. While it is exceedingly hot on 
the Rio Grande, the thermometer in summer sometimes 
going up to 110° or even 114** in the shade, still a 
constant strong breeze and invariably cool nights render 
the climate rather pleasant, even in the hottest part of 
summer. Near the coast, the heat is very much tem- 
pered by the Gulf, and at Corpus Christi or Brownsville^ 
the heat rarely goes above 90 °. 

" In some respects the peculiarities of the surface of 
this district are singular. Near the mouth of the San 
Antonio river, and thence down to Corpus Christi bay,, 
we have the usual low and fiat ' hog- wallow ' formation ^ 



TOPOGEAPHICAL PECULIARITIES. 33 

which prevails generally along the coast of Texas, at 
from ten to forty miles from salt water. At Corpus 
Christi bay the high lands of the interior come down to 
the bay, and part of the town of this name is built upon 
a bluif near fifty feet above the water level. I believe 
this is the highest land anywhere on the Gulf coast within 
the territories of the United States. About twenty 
miles southwest of Corpus Christi commence the famous 
sands which border the Laguna Madre down to the 
' Sal Colorado.' These sands are quite remarkable. 
Extending in a northwesterly direction from the coast, 
they reach within twenty miles of the Rio Grande. They 
lie across the country in a wedge shape, of which the 
base lies on the Laguna. In many places these sands 
form bare hills, rising fifty to a hundred feet above the 
surrounding grassy plains ; and being of a light yellow 
color, are landmarks of the country and visible at great 
distances. The sands have evidently been formed by 
the prevalent southeasterly winds, which have blown 
them across from Padre Island. Like similar formations 
in England and other parts of the world, where history aids 
the observer in accounting for them, it is likely that they 
constantly progress inland under the influence of the 
south-east wind, and will probably reach or cross the 
Rio Grande in course of time. 

" After we leave the sands, going towards the Rio 
Grande, we come into the alluvial bottoms of that river. 
The Sal Colorado, which appears on the maps as a river, 
is in reality an outlet of the Rio Grande during high 
water. The bottoms of this river are, on the west side, 
from thirty to sixty miles wide as low down as Browns- 
ville. They decrease gradually up to Edinburgh, ninety 
miles from the coast, (in a straight line,) where the first 
hills come to the river. 



34 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" This district, after leaving the coast-country j ust de- 
scribed, becomes rolling and gradually hilly. On the 
extreme north-west, it borders on the outlying hills or 
mountains of the ' Staked Plain,' (Llano Estacado,) but 
within its limits there are no very high elevations, though 
the general level of the north-western part is nearly one 
thousand feet above the sea. There is a distin ctly marked 
range of hills crossing the territory from north-east to 
south-west, which deserves special notice, not only because 
it presents an interesting natural feature of the country, 
but because of the indications of valuable minerals found 

• 

in the range, of which more will be said hereafter. This 
range commences in the western side of Karnes county, 
at the place called ' Rocky.' It passes across the JN'ueces 
a short distance above Oakville, and strikes the Rio 
Grande a few miles below Carriza, in Zapata county. 
The ' Zancajo ' hill (or mountain) in Duval county is 
part of the range ; and in the southern part of that 
county, and in Zaj)ata county, it presents quite a marked 
feature, and is called by the Mexicans ' La Sierra.' 

"On the Rio Grande, from the commencement of the 
hills, the country is much more broken than anywhere 
east of it. From Rio Grande City (Ringgold) up to Eagle 
Pass, as your road winds along the river, high mountains, 
the offshoots of the Sierra Madre of Mexico, are never 
out of sight on the western horizon. 

" As was said at the beginning, this is not an agricultural 
region. In nothing is the increasing dryness of the cli- 
mate, as you j)roceed west and south, more noticeable than 
in the growth of vegetation. The cy[:)rus, magnolia, dog- 
wood, and other trees of a moist and temperate climate, 
common in Eastern Texas, pretty much disappear on the 
Colorado. The pine reaches the river near Bastrop, and 
the cedar is seen on the hills north of San Antonio. But 



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COLORADO KIVER. MATAGORDA. COUNTY. 



ABUNDANT TIMBER GROWTH. 37 

none of these trees are found in the country I am describ- 
ing. Post-oaks and live-oaks are found between the San 
Antonio and JS'ueces rivers, and the latter is common in the 
' Sands ' south of Corpus Christi, but they go no further 
southwest. I believe the only trees on the Rio Grande 
which are indigenous to Eastern Texas are the ash, elm, 
cotton-wood and hackberry. The eastern man who goes 
southwest will find another system of vegetation gradually 
supplanting that to which he has been accustomed. The 
mesquite-tree, which in the desert can send its roots far 
down in search of moisture, with its bright pea-green 
leaves, becomes a prominent feature of tlie landscape. 
The 'Spanish Bayonet,' an endless variety of the cactus, 
and a dozen or more species of scrubby, thorny shrubs, 
known under the general designation of 'chaparral' 
the products of a climate of great droughts, form in many 
parts an almost impenetrable jungle. On the Rio Grande 
tlie ebony tree becomes common, and is a handsome tree 
T^en full grown. There is also found a very ornamental 
an' graceful tree called the ' Tepajuaque,' which is no- 
wh' ' " found north of the Rio Grande valley. 

" ^1 the trees and vegetation, and (? v en the native ani- 
mals, Ijirds, and insects, seem especially adapted to a dry 
climate. 

" But if this country is too dry for planting purposes we 
are compeii sated in another way. Many years' experience 
has shown (hat Texas is the best stot-k-raising State of the 
Union, and l<>f the same business this country is certainly 
the best part of Texas. The very dryness of the climate, 
in preventing vhe growth of trees to shade the soil, ena- 
bles fine and nutritious grasses to abound. It is the 
paradise of horse^^j sheep, and catthe. I have spoken of 
the numbers of cattle and horses that formerly ran wild 
under the name of 'mustangs.' There is little doubt 
5 



38 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

that the present numbers of tame animals are even greater ; 
but still there is room for more, and probably South- 
western Texas will alone one day export a half-million 
of beeves. Of the health and fecundity of the sheep, an 
instance within the knowledge of the writer will give a 
fair idea. A friend living in Webb county commenced 
raising sheep with two hundred and fifty ewes in the win- 
ter of 1854-55. In the year 1860 he sold out three 
thousand head, the result of this flock. He folio wed. the 
Mexican plan of breeding twice a year. 

" In so extensive a region it is reasonable to presume 
that valuable mines must exist. However, very little 
scientific investigation has yet been made, and therefore 
little is known of this — perhaps less even than of other 
regions not so near the centres of civilization. 

" On the Rio G-mnde it is well known that several beds 
of coal, of an inferior quality, exist, and have been worked. 
It is reported that extensive beds of coal (equal to cannei) 
have recently been discovered on the Nueces river. Tiie 
locality of these beds has not been divulged, but the 
report has it that they are situated at from one hundred 
to one hundred and forty miles from Corpus Christi. 

" In the range of hills called ' La Sierra,' of which I 
have made mention, indications of silver and lead have 
been found in several places. The writer ha? in his pos- 
session a very rich specimen of lead ore whicli was found. 
in this range, about eighty miles from Corr)us Christi. 
If it should develop that there are indications of silver or 
lead in sufficient quantities to pay for the v^orking, their 
proximity to a sea-povt will be an important consideration. 
I believe that neither silver nor lead h? § anywhere else 
within the United States been found so near the coast. 

" I suppose most people in Texas are ^tware of the great 
natural salt-works alon^g the margin of Corpus Christi bay 



MINERAL PRODUCTIONS. 39 

and Laguna Madre. During the late war, Texas was 
altogether supplied from here. The Laguna Madre (so 
called by the Mexicans because of the many smaller lagu- 
nas that open up into the interior from it,) as it will be seen 
from the map, is a bay between Padre Island (so named 
from * El Padre Balli,' who owned a rancho on it in ante- 
Texas times) and the main-land. This laguna is about one 
hundred and twenty miles long and from three to six 
miles broad, and very shallow, not averaging more than 
eighteen inches deep. In the spring and summer months 
the prevalent winds drive the water of the Gulf in a steady 
current up the laguna from south to north. Passing 
over this long and shallow flat, under a burning sun, the 
water evaporates rapidly, and when it reaches the northern 
part of the laguna, it is intensely salt. From the mother 
laguna the winds drive this salt water slowly up the 
innumerable smaller lagunas that make up from it into 
the main-land. These are generally from three to six 
inches deep, and in many instances very broad. Here 
the evaporation continues, and during the dry weather of 
spring and summer the salt crystalizes and settles on the 
bottom in great abundance. Nature seems to have pro- 
vided here, on her usual gigantic scale, works for the 
making of salt by solar evaporation. The process, as 
will be perceived, is a good deal the same that men have 
adopted on the coast of France, Key West, Turk's Island 
etc., to procure salt from the same source. The quantity 
that can be raked up in this locality during the summer 
varies according to the depth of fall rain. Some seasons 
it will form about as fast as it can be raked, and the 
quantity is only to be limited by the capacity for gathering 
it. To speak within carefully considered bounds, I believe 
that in an average dry season ten milliotis of bushels can 
be collected within fifty miles of navigation on Corpus 



40 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Christi bay, and that it can, at present prices of labor, be 
placed on navigation at ten cents per bushel. 

*' Besides these lagunas, there are some salt lakes and 
ponds between the JNTueces and Rio Grande, which are not 
connected with the Gulf. The most noted of these is the 
celebrated " Sal del Rey," (Salt of the King, so called 
because of the laws of Sj^ain giving salines to the king,) 
in Hidalgo county, about thirty-five miles from the Rio 
Grande, and sixty miles from Brownsville. The salt in 
this, and probably the other lakes of the sort, seems to 
come from the earth in springs. The " Sal del Rey " has 
been a favorite resort of the Mexicans for salt. It has 
for several generations supplied the greater part ofJN^orth- 
ern Mexico with that article, and is apparently inexhausti- 
ble. The lake is about three miles in circumference." 

VII. The Mineeal Region. — The large scope of 
country composed of the counties of Crockett, Tom Green, 
Pecos, Presidio, and El Paso, has been denominated the 
mineral region of Texas ; though as yet its mineral wealth 
lies undeveloped in the mines. We give a description of 
this with the following. 

VIII. The Pan Handle, or Staked Plains, lies 
north of Tom Green county and between JN^ew Mexico and 
the Indian Territory. The Legislature of 1875 laid out 
and gave names to fifty-four counties in this region. In 
the early maps of North America, a vast region in the 
heart of the continent w^as designated as the " Great 
American Desert." That great desert has steadily 
retreated before the advancing tide of population. The 
southern rim of it reached Texas. It is conjectured that 
in 1734, when the fathers from Santa Fe visited San Saba 
to establish a fort and mission, they set up stakes, with 
buffalo heads on them, so that others might follow their 
route. This gave the name of Llano Estacado to the 



THE PAN-HANDLE. 41 

plateau crossed. In the map prepared for Yoakum's his- 
tory of Texas, and published by Redfield in 1856, there is 
this note : " From the head waters of the Red Brazos 
and Colorado rivers to the Rio Pecos is a desolate and 
sterile plain from 100 to 200 miles in width, elevated 
about 4,500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico, without water 
or timber and with a scanty vegetation." JN'otwithstanding 
this is described as such an arid region, all the great rivers, 
from the Canadian on the north to the Pecos and Rio 
Grande on the south, have their sources in springs found in 
canons penetrating this plateau ; or from underground 
streams, from the same source, issuing out at the surface, 
as at San Marcos, San Antonio and other points. Since 
the close of the Civil War this region of country has 
been penetrated by buffalo hunters, and by parties of 
soldiers in pursuit of Indians. The best and most 
reliable description yet given to the public is found in the 
report of Lieutenant-Colonel W. B. Shafter, who, in 1875 
made a pretty thorough reconnoissance of the hitherto 
terra incognita. Colonel Shafter started from Fort Concho, 
in Tom Green county, two hundred and fifteen miles north- 
west of San Antonio. We copy from his report : 

" Commencing at Fort Concho, the valley of JN'orth Con- 
cho for sixty miles is well adapted to grazing, having suffi- 
cient wood for all necessary purposes and good running 
water the entire distance. 

" Rendlebrock's spring, twenty-five miles north of the 
North Concho and sixty-five miles from the post, is a large 
spring of running water, and in the country about it there 
are large mesquite flats, well timbered, with plenty of grass, 
and good shelter for stock in the winter. 

" The wagon road to Fresh Fork of Brazos, via Rendle- 
brock's spring, leaves the North Concho forty-two miles 
above the post of Concho, crossing to the valleys running 
into the Colorado. 



42 HISTORY or TEXAS. 

" From Rendlebrock's spring, to where the wagon road 
strikes the Fresh Fork of the Brazos, the country passed 
through is slightly rolling, covered with excellent grass^ 
considerable mesquite timber of small growth, (from six 
to twelve feet high), and having several streams and 
springs of good water, with one or two (the Brazos and 
Double Mountain Fork) salty at the point where crossed 
by the road, though both are fresh near their heads. 
The canon of the Fresh Fork of the Brazos is nearly 
fifty miles in length and from one-half to two and a half 
miles wide, through which flows a stream of excellent 
water the whole distance. After reaching the plains, the 
water is good for about twenty-five miles and then becomes 
salty at its junction with the Brazos. The grass in all 
the region of the country is excellent, and sufficient wood 
for fuel is easily obtained. I believe that corn could be 
grown the whole length of the canon without irrigation, 
except in unusually dry seasons. 

" From about half way up the canon the road crosses to 
the head of Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos, which 
flows through a canon similar to that of the Fresh Fork, 
parallel with it and about thirty miles distant, and extends 
about the same distance into the plains. 

" The country between these streams is high table land, 
with scarcely any timber and but few mesquite roots. 
Large circular depressions, filled with water for part of 
the year, occur frequently, and the whole country is cov- 
ered with luxuriant grass, affording pasturage for immense 
herds of buflPalo, and would be sufficient to maintain 
thousands of cattle and horses that could water, when the 
rain-water holes dried up, in the Fresh and Double 
Mountain Forks of the Brazos. 

"From the head of Double Mountain Fork to Casa 
Amarilla the distance is forty -two miles, almost due west, 



^- 




SCENE ON CANADIAN RIVER, HUTCHINSON COUNTY. 



WHITE SAND HILLS. 45 

the country being similar in all respects to that just de- 
scribed. Casa Amarilla is a large alkali and salt lake, of 
from one-half to three-quarters of a mile in width and 
about three in length, situated in a depression of the 
plains and draining the country for several miles in all 
directions. There are two dug springs at the base of the 
bluff on the southern side, and about a half mile further 
south, at the head of a ravine, a large tank of fresh water 
that I believe is fed from springs, as I could not perceive 
any dimunition in it after using it for two days with my 
whole command. Six miles directly north of this lake 
are some large pools of living water, with plenty of wood. 
This would be an excellent place for sheep or horses. 

" Six miles west of Casa Amarilla is a large alkali lake, 
circular in form, about three-fourths of a mile in diameter, 
having some fine large springs in the bank, good grass, 
but no timber or roots. This lake is called by the Mexi- 
cans ' Quemas,' and is supposed to be very near the line 
of Texas and New Mexico. 

" The trail from Quemas to the Pecos (twenty miles 
above mouth of Azul, in !N'ew Mexico) passes for about 
twenty miles over high table land, with occasional rain- 
water holes, then about twenty of deep sand, then forty- 
seven of high hard prairie, without water but covered 
with luxuriant grass, then twenty of very heavy sand, 
and about twenty of hard, high rolling country bordering 
the Pecos. 

" From this point, on the Pecos to Horsehead crossing, 
the distance is 157 miles, the wagon road keeping near 
the river. The country bordering on the Pecos for sev- 
eral miles has only tolerable grass, and the bluffs are 
covered with sharp flint rocks, with considerable small 
growth of brush and Spanish daggers. 

" From Pecos Falls to lower end of White Sand Hills 



46 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

the distance is about twenty miles, a little east of north, 
one-half the distance hard prairie and the balance heavy 
sand. 

" The White Sand Hills consist of a range of low hills 
of very white sand, without vegetation, and almost imj)ass- 
able, excejit for horses ; at least double teams would be 
required to draw lightly loaded wagons through them. 
They present, from the distance of a few miles, the ap- 
pearance of hills covered with snow. They extend north- 
west and southeast for about twenty-five miles and are 
almost five miles in width, the south end distant from the 
Pecos about twenty miles, the north end about forty at 
the nearest point. Water in almost unlimited quantity 
can be had by digging in the small depressions at the 
bases of the hills at a depth of two to four feet. 

" I have twice visited these sand hills this summer, and 
once in 1871, and every time found considerable water on 
the surface. There are also quite large willows and 
Cottonwood trees growing in them, a sure indication of 
living water. The country east of the sand hills to 
Mustang and Sulphur Springs, distant sixty miles, is 
high rolling prairie, covered with fine grass, has no known 
living water, but abundance during the rainy season, in 
small lakes. 

" From the head of the ^N'orth Concho two large wagon 
roads into the plains have been made by my command, 
one going up the right-hand valley to Big Spring, thence 
via Sulphur Springs, Tobacco creek, and head of Colorado 
(Moo-cho-ko-way) to Cuates and head of Double Moun- 
tain Fork of Brazos ; the other takes the left hand valley 
and goes via Mustang Springs to Five Wells, Laguna 
Sabinas and Laguna Cuates. 

" From Five Wells there are two wagon roads to Mon- 
ument Spring, in New JNIexico, and one from there to Dug 



SULPHUR SPRINGS 47 

Spring, twenty miles due south and thirty-two miles from 
the Pecos. 

" From head of ]N"orth Concho to Big Spring the distance 
is thirty miles, country hard rolling prairie, road hard. 
Big Spring is a very large spring of excellent water, sit- 
uated in a rocky gorge between two very high hills. 
Considerable mesquite timber in the vicinity, and plenty 
of excellent stone for building. 

" Sulphur Springs lies thirty miles nearly west from 
Big Spring, country rolling, except five or six miles of 
quite heavy sand, water excellent, and, as at Big Spring, 
in inexhaustible quantities by any amount of stock that 
can be fed within reach of them. At this point the road 
turns almost due north, and passes through a magnificent 
grazing country for twenty miles to Tobacco creek ; this 
is a small stream of but few miles in length, rising in the 
edge of the plains, near where the road strikes it, and 
running nearly east. Two miles farther north is another 
large branch, and from there on for twenty miles there 
are several small running streams and springs, one of 
them being the head of the Colorado — these streams 
forming what is known as the Moo-cho-ko-way country. 
The water is excellent and inexhaustible ; considerable 
mesquite timber — sufficient for all necessary purposes of 
settlers, and stone convenient for building. All of the 
valleys through which streams flow can be irrigated to 
some extent. I do not think there is any doubt but corn 
could be raised without irrigation nearly every year. As 
a grazing country it is unsurpassed by any portion of 
Western Texas from the Gulf to New Mexico and Indian 
Territory. 

" From the head of Colorado to Laguna Cuates is thirty 
miles, over a high slightly rolling hard prairie covered 
with good grass, but very little wood above ground and 



48 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

mesquite roots scarce. During the rainy season there are 
many large lakes of water _ 

" Laf^una Cuates are two large very salt lakes situated 
in a depression of the plains; they are, together, about 
three miles long and one and one-half wide. Near the 
edcres of them are several springs of good water. At this 
pkce I dug two large holes in the bank, about twelve or 
fifteen feet square, which soon filled to a depth of two or 
three feet. By digging I do not think there is any rea- 
sonable limit to the water that could be obtained. 

- Laguna Blanco is a similar lake, eight miles east of 
Cuates, having also fresh water springs. 

" Six mUes south of Cuates are two lakes, separated but 
a few hundred yards, the one very salty and the other 
fresh, both evidently never going dry. 

" About all these lakes there are great quantities of 
mesquite roots, sufficient to furnish fuel for any population 
the country could support. 

" From Cuates to head of Double Mountain Fork the 
distance is thirty-two miles, nearly due north, countrj^ 
high hard rolling prairie. 

"Taking the left hand valley, two miles above head 
water on the North Concho, a large w^gon road leads due 
west, over rolling hard prairie, to Mustang Springs, dis- 
tant fortv-two miles. Six and a half miles further west, 
and on the wagon road, are several other springs. The 
water at both these places is in great abundance, hundreds 
of buffalo watering at them daily, not exhausting them 
Plenty of mesquite roots for fuel, and good grass and 
shelter in ravines. ^ 

" From Upper Mustang Springs to Five \\ ells the 
distance is thirtv-four miles, northwest, over a high level 
prairie, with numerous large sink holes, or ponds, filled 
for several months in the year with water. 



LAKES, SPKINGS AND WELLS. 49 

" The Five Wells are situated in a ravine about one- 
eighth to one-half of a mile in width ; the length is not 
known. It was examined for several miles each way 
without finding any other water, except a few small salt 
lakes. These wells are within a few yards of each other, 
are about six or eight feet deep and from four to ten feet 
in diameter, with three to four feet of water. Watering 
about five hundred animals for three days did not, appar- 
ently, at all diminish the water ; grass excellent and 
plenty of shelter for stock in ravines ; mesquite roots for 
fuel not very large or abundant. 

" Laguna Sabinas, thirty-two miles due north from Five 
wells, is an alkili or salt lake, nearly six miles long and 
four wide, with plenty of good water in numerous wells or 
rather dug springs in a ravine at the north end, and 
several large wells at the south end, of slightly brackish 
water but fit for use of men and animals. Water can be 
found by digging anywhere near the edge of the lake ; 
grass in vicinity excellent, and plenty of wood (roots). 

" From the north end of the lake are two large wagon 
roads, one going nearly due east to head of Tobacco creek, 
distant thirty-five miles. About five miles of the road 
heavy sand, the balance high hard prairie. The left hand 
road runs nearly northeast thirty-two miles to Laguna 
Cuates, high prairie and sand about equally distributed 
at intervals of three or four miles. About the bluffs of 
Laguna Sabinas are found a few small cedars ; stone for 
building in the bluffs. 

" From the Five Wells there are two wagon roads, one 
running a little south of west, the other a little north, to 
Monument Spring, in New Mexico, distant by the left 
hand road sixty-three miles and by the right sixty-six ; 
the latter being the preferable route on account of less 
sand and much better water. By the left hand road it is 



50 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

all heavy sand, except three short stretches, of a couple of 
miles each, to an alkali lake, distant from Five Wells 
thirty-six miles. This lake is situated in a depression of 
the prairie with hard ground all around it, extending sev- 
eral miles on the south and west ; water permanent and, 
thouo;h quite strongly alkali, can be used from holes dug 
in th'e bank ; better water is obtained, though none of it 
is good. Grass excellent and very luxuriant ; wood (roots) 
in'abundance. The lake is circular in form and one-eighth 
of a mile in diameter. From this lake to Monument 
Spring, distant twenty-seven miles, the country is rolling, 
about'iialf hard prairie, the balance light sand. 

" By the right hand road, going west from Five Wells, 
the distance to the first of Ward's wells is twenty-four 
miles, about sixteen of it heavy sand, the rest hard. 
These wells are situated in a ravine (from one-fourth to 
three-fourths of a mile in width) or narrow valley, ex- 
tending northwest and southeast, through the centre of the 
plains, for at least fifty miles, bordered on each side by 
from one to three miles of hard prairie, making a strip of 
prairie from two to six miles in width. There are about 
fifty of these wells, in the first valley, in a space of one 
and one-half miles. Wells are from four feet deep at the 
western end to fifteen at the eastern, and having from two 
to four feet of water, of excellent quality and affbrding 
water for several thousand horses or cattle. Grass ex- 
cellent, and wood (roots) in abundance. 

" Three and one-half miles on the road, west of the first 
wells, in a similar ravine which joins the long one, are 
found about twenty more wells, and two miles south, in a 
third ravine, are several more ; these last are off the road 
about a mile. This appears to have been a favorite resort 
of Indians, as shown by deeply worn trails, old lodges and 
heads of cattle. No sign of buffalo so far west as this, 
the line of sand from a few miles south of Quemas to 



ABUNDANT WATER SUPPLY. 51 

Laguna R-ico and Sabinas and thence through Five Wells 
and Mustang Springs to head of Main Concho being their 
western limit. 

"From the second spring, to Monument Spring, distant 
thirty-seven miles, a little south of west, the road runs 
most of the way over rolling prairie, with about fifteen 
miles of not very heavy sand. 

" Monument Spring is so named from a monument I 
had built on a hill southwest and one and one-fourth miles 
distant from the spring. This monument is of nearly 
white stone, about eight feet in diameter at the base, four 
at the top, and seven and one-half feet high. It can be 
seen for several miles in all directions. 

" Monument Spring is a very large spring of excellent 
water, furnishing enough for several thousand head of 
horses. The country to the north is, for fifty miles, hard 
high prairie, to the south and west sandy ; grass, in all 
directions, of luxuriant growth, of the finest quality found 
on the plains ; wood abundant (roots) for fuel, and good 
building stone in the hills near by (limestone). 

" Twenty miles due south are Dug springs, three in 
number, situated in a small valley of salty grass. The 
wells are a few yards apart, about six feet deep and four 
in diameter, having a depth of three or four feet of water 
and furnishing enough for about one thousand horses per 
day. My command, of about three hundred animals, 
watering all at one time soon exhausted the springs, but 
in an hour or two they were full again. Plenty of wood 
in this vicinity, and tolerable good grass close by ; within 
easy grazing distance it was excellent. 

" From Dug springs to the Pecos the distance is about 
thirty-two miles, one-half of the way heavy sand and the 
rest hard rolling hills. There is no wagon road to the 
Pecos, but a very plain and deeply worn Indian trail, 
running almost due west until near the Pecos, when it 



52 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

turns southwest, striking that stream just above the 
mouth of the Azul or Blue river, at a shallow, rock-bottom 
CKOssing, where the water in ordinary stages is not over 
fifteen inches deep. 

" From Mustang Springs to Centralia the distance is 
fifty-four miles, without water on the trail of Lieutenant 
Geddes, except one salt lake thirty-five miles north and 
twenty -five west of Central station. At this lake water 
might be found by digging. Southeast of Central station, 
and eighteen miles from it, a fine spring of water, hitherto 
unknown, was found by Lieutenant Geddes, which will, 
undoubtedly, cause a change in the road across the plains 
to the Pecos. From this spring to Howard's wells and 
the Pecos the country has never been scouted ; on the trail 
followed by Lieutenant Geddes no other permanent water 
was found until he reached Howard's wells, on the San 
Antonio road. From this point west to the Rio Grande 
the country is least known of any in this Department and 
is the most difiicult to scout in, as it has, so far, been 
found impossible to take wagons along ; and from the 
country being cut up by very deep and rocky ravines and 
all the hills covered with a kind of miniature Spanish 
dagger, making it very difficult and painful traveling for 
horses. There is, undoubtedly, plenty of water, and this 
country has always been a favorite resort for the Apaches 
and Lipans. Lieutenant Geddes discovered several good 
springs of water on his trail and reports that his command 
did not sufifer at all from want of water. My experience, 
father west and near the Rio Grande, was the same in the 
fall of 1871, when I was, at no time, more than a half 
day without water, either in springs or rock tanks. 

" The various scouts have shown how easily the plains 
can be traversed, in almost any direction, and to all the 
large watering places there are plain wagon roads that 
will show for years." 




SCENE ON BRAZOS RIVER. NEAR MARLIN. 



CHAPTER III. 

TEXAS RITERS: THBIIR NAMES— WHAT STREAMS ARE NAVIGABI^B— DEPTH OF 

bars; inland navigation— water stjppLY — artesian wbixs— water 

POWER. 

^EGI]S']S"i:N'Gr at the northern, or northeastern bound- 
J-^ ary of the State, Red river. Big Cypress and Lake 
Soda are navigable during the rainy seasons, and a 
regular trade is carried on upon these withKew Orleans. 
On the old Spanish maps the Red river is called Naugdo- 
ches, from an Indian tribe on its banks. 

The Sabine is the eastern boundary of Texas from the 
Gulf of Mexico to the 32d parallel of latitude. >It has at 
its mouth a depth of from five to seven feet of water ; 
but such is the nature of the bottom that it could very 
easily be deepened to a much greater depth, and this is 
now being done by the General Government. It is navi- 
gable during portions of the year for a distanee of thre^ 
hundred miles from its mouth. It was called by the 
Spaniards, Adaes, after an Indian tribe. In 1718, De 
Alarconne, in his controversy with La Harpe, calls it Rio 
de San Francisco de Sabinas. (Sabine means juniper 
tree.) 

The Angelina and Neches rivers enter Sabine lake. 
Boats ascend the former some 400 miles durino- the wet 
season ; and the latter about 250 to Thouvennin landing. 

Trinity. The Indian name of this river was Arkokisa ; 
a corruption from Orquisaco, an Indian tribe, Lasalle 



56 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

called it the river of canoes, because he had to procure 
canoes from the Indians to cross the swollen stream. It 
empties into Galveston bay, and has a depth of three feet 
at its mouth. Steamboats have ascended it 900 miles to 
Dallas. 

San Jacinto (Hyacinth) river forms a junction with 
Buffalo Bayou at Lynchburg, and empties into Galveston 
bay. Buffalo Bayou is navigable to Houston, ninety 
miles from Galveston. In 1876, Red Fish and other bars 
were deepened, and boats drawing from six to eight feet,, 
now ascend the bayou to Clinton, six miles below Houston. 

The outer bar at Galveston has a depth of water vary- 
ing from ten to thirteen feet, which is being increased by 
a system of jetties made by gabions. 

The Brazos has from five to eight feet at its mouth. 
Boats have ascended 600 miles to the falls, near Marlin. 
In 1854 a canal was cut from near the mouth of the river 
into Galveston bay. If tradition is to be credited, the 
Spaniards gave the name of Colorado to this river ; but 
the names were interchanged. The Indians called it 
Tockonhono. In crossing this stream La Salle lost one' 
of his men, su23posed to have been seized by an alligator,, 
and he gave it the name of Mali on. 

The San Bernard has a shallow entrance, but it is nav- 
igable for twenty or thirty miles. 

Old Caney Creek has been navigated some seventy 
miles. In 1864 a channel was opened from near its 
mouth into Matagorda bay. 

A bar at the mouth of the Colorado, and a raft in the 
channel, interfere with its navigation. In 1847, a steam- 
boat built above the raft ascended the river 600 miles, to 
the falls above Austin. The Indian name was Pashohono. 
Tradition says a party of Spanish adventurers after nearly 
perishing for water, came suddenly upon this stream and 



NAVIGABLE RIVERS. 57 

called it Brazos de Dios (Arm of Grod). La Salle called it 
the Kiver of Canes, from the quantity of cane upon its 
bank. It flows into Matagorda bay. 

The Iv^avidad was called by LaSalle Prince's River, and 
its confluent, River of Beeves (Lavaca, or Cow), is navi- 
gable thirty miles to Texana. It empties through Lavaca 
bay into Matagorda bay. Pass Cavallo is the outlet of 
Matagorda bay, and has a depth on the bar of from eight 
to eleven feet. Bellin's map, in 1750, gives eighteen feet 
on the bar, up to Dog Island. 

The Guadalupe river is shallow at its mouth, where it 
enters Espiritu Santo bay. It has been navigated seventy 
miles to Victoria. In old maps this bears the name of 
its principal afiiuent, the San Marcos. Its principal 
western branch is the San Antonio, which is sometimes 
called the Medina, one of its tributaries. 

The I^ueces (Nuts) river is navigable for small vessels 
up to the neighborhood of San Patricio. Aransas Pass 
has a depth of from six to ten feet. In 1874 the Corpus 
Christi ship channel was opened, permitting steam-ships 
to reach the wharf at Corpus Christi. 

The Rio Grande, which forms the boundary between 
Texas and Mexico, is navigable 500 miles to Comargo. 
This stream has three names. At Santa Fe it is called 
the Del JN'orte ; and at Reinosa the Rio Bravo. There is 
a depth of from four to five feet at its mouth ; but the 
principal shipping point is through the pass at Brazos St. 
Jago, which has a depth of from six to nine feet. 

The following estimate, made by a competent engineer, 
shows with what ease and at how small a cost inland 
communication might be opened along the entire coast of 
Texas : 

From Rio Grande river into waters connected with 
Point Isabel, one mile solid digging ; from thence through 
6 



68 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the Laguna del Madre into Corpus Christi Bay, 100 miles 
with three feet depth of water ; from thence into Aransas 
Bay, sixteen miles, with an average depth of three feet 
water ; from thence to Matagorda Bay, forty-eight miles, 
good for six feet water ; thence through Matagorda Bay 
to Caney Creek, forty-five miles, eight feet depth of water ; 
fi'om Caney Creek, seven miles solid digging, into San 
Bernard lake and river; from San Bernard river 
to Brazos river, ten miles solid digging ; thence 
through canal and West Bay into Galveston Bay, 
thirty miles, with four feet depth of water ; thence 
through Oalveston Bay and through East Bay to East 
Bay ba^^ou, with from six to nine feet water for twenty 
miles, and the last five miles three feet, water and soft 
mud, making in all twenty -five miles ; from thence 
through East Bay and Elm Bayous, ten miles ; thence 
seventeen miles solid digging to Taylor's Bayou down 
which to Sabine Lake, eight miles. 

Water Supply. — A good portion of Texas has an 
abundance of springs and living streams of water ; and 
in most places in the State good water can be obtained at 
a depth varying from fifteen to one hundred feet. But 
in others where water can not be had by digging, or when 
it is unsuitable for use, owing to mineral substances with 
which it is impregnated, a water supply is secured by 
tanks. A dam is thrown across a raA^ine having a mod- 
erate fall, and the earth is scraped out down to the hard 
clay. Large reservoirs are thus constructed, and filled 
by the rains, which being protected from stock, furnish 
an abundant supply of good fresh water. 

Artesian Wells. — The scarcity of water in W^estern- 
Texas induced the United States Congress, in 1856, to 
make an appropriation of $100,000 for boring artesian 
wells in the arid region between the JN^ueces and Bio 



ARTESIAT>^ WELIiS. 59 

Grande rivers. Lieutenant John Pope was detailed to 
execute the work of boring. At one of the wells, good 
water was found at the depth of a little over two hundred 
feet ; but it did not rise to the surface. On the Pecos 
river a well was bored eleven hundred feet, but without 
success. At Corj^us Christi water flowed to the surface, 
but it was unsuitable for use. In 1858 a well was com- 
menced on the Capitol Hill, at Austin. At the depth of 
twelve hundred feet a weak stream rose to the surface and 
flowed off*. Like the stream at Corpus Christi, this was so 
impregnated with mineral substances as to be useless. 
In 1873 some obstructions occurred and the water ceased 
to flow. Ts'ear Terrell, in Kaufman county, a number of 
wells have been dug of only ordinary depth, and the water 
rises to the surface. A few miles from Fort Worth a 
well was bored to the depth of four hundred and fifty feet ; 
at which a great abundance of water was found, which 
rose to within about twelve or fifteen feet of the surface. 
There is an artesian well near G-raham, Young county, 
only one hundred and ninety-seven feet deep. A bold 
stream flows out from the top. 

Rains. — As a general rule the more western counties of 
the State are most liable to suffer from drouth. But exj^eri- 
ence has shown that this objection is becoming less from 
year to year, as the country becomes more settled and 
more under cultivation. The prairie fires that formerly 
so often swept over the western plains, destroying every 
shrub and preventing the growth of timber, have become 
far less frequent and confined to comparatively narrow 
limits. Hence there are now thousands of acres in nearly 
all the western counties growing up in mesquite and vari- 
ous kinds of timber, where a few years ago there was not 
a shrub to be seen. This growth of timber is believed to 
be one principal cause for the more regular falls of rain, 



60 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

for in all parts of the world the growth of timber has long 
been recognized to have this effect, and in many countries 
the growth of forest trees has been encouraged by govern- 
ment as a means to secure the more regular fall of rain. 
To this cause is generally attributed the fact that 
the counties on the San Antonio river, and others 
in the west, are now far more exempt from drouths than 
formerly; and it is now believed by many that the crops 
there are no more liable to suifer fi'om too little rain than 
thev are from too much in most of the States. In all other 
parts of Texas the seasons of rain are much the same as 
in other States, and crops are liable to as few casualties as 
in any other part of the world. In one respect Texas 
has an advantage over any country we have seen, for a& 
a general rule deep plowing and early planting will secure 
fair crops in nearly all parts of the State with very little 
rain, and sometimes with none at all. This advantage is 
owing to the fact that our planting season commences a 
month or two earlier than in other States on account of 
our mild winter, and also to the fact that our soil has 
nearly ever^'where a substratum of clay and is very 
retentive of moisture with deep plowing. 

Water Power. — Comparatively little use has, as yet^ 
been made of the immense water power of Texas. It is 
true that but few sites suitable for mills and machinery 
are found on the sluggish streams in the low, flat country. 
There are some good locations on the head waters of the 
tributaries of the Trinity and San Jacinto rivers. Mill- 
sites mav be found in almost all the rollino' counties of 
Texas, where almost all of the small streams have them. 
Many are found in Bell county, on the tributaries of Lit^ 
tie river, and at such springs as Salado. An article in 
an old almanac describes the water power of West Texas : 

" Beginning with the Colorado, we find it having a fall of 



WATER POWER. 61 

six hundred and fifty feet from Austin to the coast. Be- 
tween those points there are many places where its power 
may be made available by the judicious employment of 
capital. This is particularly the case at Columbus, where 
the river, at its aj)];)i'oach to town, makes a bend, and after 
running round several miles, returns to the lower part of 
the town, leaving a comparatively narrow neck between 
the two points. A suifable dam to turn the water into a 
€anal, would give a large fall at its entrance into the river. 
At some future time Columbus will be largely engaged 
in profitable manufacturing. I am not familiar with the 
toj^ography of the river from that point to Austin, but 
the probability is that there are many other available 
localities for machinery. From Austin to the head of the 
river, and its tributaries which flow through the moun- 
tains, many admirable sites for machinery are found. 

" Passing west from the Colorado we come to the San 
Marcos. It is formed by an immense spring at the town 
of San Marcos, where the water gushes out of the moun- 
tain from several springs, forming a volume constituting a 
considerable river. JS'ear the spring there is a fine site 
for machinery. The falls continue for fifteen or twenty 
miles, afibrding many fine mill sites. 

" From Gonzales, where the San Marcos enters into the 
(xuadalupe, up to Seguin, there are several points on the 
river capable of being made available for machinery ; but 
from Seguin up to the head of the river, and especially from 
Seguin to 'New Braunfels, we have a magnificent water 
power. At Seguin commences a series of falls of from two to 
nine or ten feet perpendicular height. Between the two 
points, a distance of fifteen miles, there is a descent of eighty 
feet. Nearly all of these falls, which occur at intervals 
of from one to three miles, may be utilized. At Braunfels, 
where the Comal Spring issues from the mountain in a 



62 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

volume sufficient to form a considercible river, there is a 
water power easily commanded sufficient to make it a 
second Lowell. From that point to the head of the river 
there is a large amount of fine and available water power. 
" Still further west we come to the San Antonio river, 
another permanent current stream abounding in valuable 
mill and factory sites. Beginning at the town of Goliad, 
there is a fall or rapid, where Ihe river passes over a 
rocky formation, presenting a fine site for machinery. 
Goliad is forty or fifty miles from the coast. From that 
point to Colctfiel Skyles' place, below the Conchester cross- 
ing of the river, in the upper part of Karnes county 
there are available points where the water power may be 
used to advantage. From the lower part of Colonel 
Skyles' place to the Conchester crossing, a distance of 
three miles, there is a fall of about thirty feet. There are^ 
besides some rapids, three several falls ; one perpendicu- 
lar of six or eight feet ; the other two are sloj)es, and 
would require a low dam to control the waters, and are^ 
one eight and the other eleven feet high. They are formed 
by beds of sandstone of excellent quality. The stone is 
in layers of convenient thickness for quarrying, and in 
inexhaustible quantity. T^ature seems to have designed 
the locality for an immense manufacturing city. From 
that point to San Antonio there are various sites for ma- 
chinery. Still further west, the head waters of the JN'euces, 
Frio and other streams rising in the mountains affiird 
ample power for large factories. These streams extend 
to the Rio Grande. 




FERRY, COMAL RIVER. 



CHAPTER IV. 



MOUNTAINS— AI.TITUDES— MINERALS— COPPER, LEAD, IRON, SILVER, COAL, ETC. 
—GUANO IN BAT CAVES. 



MOUIS'TAINS. — In the old maps a good many moun- 
tains were laid down ; as the Tehuacana, in Lime- 
stone county ; Colorado Mountains, above Austin; Gruada- 
lupe Mountains, in Kerr county ; Pack Saddle and other 
peaks, in Llano county ; and other elevations, dignified 
with the name of mountains. Later maps still mark some 
peaks as mountains; as Double Mountain, at the northwest 
corner of Jones county ; the White Sand Hills, in Tom 
Green county ; Chenati and some other peaks, in Presidio 
county ; and Eagle Mountains, in El Paso county. The 
mountains of Texas, in a mountainous country, would be 
called hills, though some of them rise to a respectable 
height. 

Thousands of invalids annually visit Texas for their 
health. To such, the question of altitude is one of con- 
siderable importance ; and we give the altitudes of leading 
points in different parts of the State. But we will state, 
that even the flat, coast region is so swept by delightful 
sea-breezes that it is pleasant and healthy. But as we 
penetrate the interior, and gain a greater altitude, the 
atmosphere becomes more pure and stimulating. The 
highest spurs of what is called the Guadalupe range are 
about 5,000 feet above the sea level. 

Red river, at the mouth of the Big Wichita, has an 



(56 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

elevation of about 900 feet ; San Antonio, 600 feet ; Aus- 
tin, 600 ; Castroville, 767 ; Fort Duncan, 800 ; Fort 
Lincoln, 900; Fort Inge, 845 ; Fort Clark, 1,000; Round 
Rock, 1,145 ; Fort Chadburn, 2,120; Phantom Hill, 2,300 ; 
Fredricksburg 1,500 ; Valley of the Pecos 2,350 ; Jacks- 
boro, 2,000; El Paso, 3,750; highest point on the San 
Antonio and El Paso road, 5,765 ; Llano Estacada, about 
2,400 ; Fort Worth 629 ; Dallas 481 feet. 

MiNEEALS.— So far, the geological surveys of Texas 
have been very meager and superficial. The office of 
State Geologist was created in 1858. In 1859, B. F. 
Shumard commenced operations, as State Geologist ; but 
was superseded in that ofBce the next year by Dr. Francis 
Moore, Jr., who had hardly commenced field-work when 
the war broke up his operations. John W. Glenn held 
the oface for a short time in 1873 ; and S. B.Buckley, in 
' 1874. The following summary is from the pen of Prof. 
A. R. Rossler, who was assistant geologist under Dr. 

Shumard : 

" Copper — Copper, covering as it does a large area of 
country, is almost inexhaustible, and will afford a vast, 
fund of wealth for generations to come. A large portion 
of the counties of Archer, Wichita, Clay, Haskell, Terri- 
tory of Bexar, counties of Pecos and Presidio — extending 
to the Rio Grande— is filled with immense hills of copper 
ore, some of which has been thoroughly tested and will 
yield on the average 55.44 per cent, of metal ; though 
some particular localities have produced specimens even as 
rich as 68 per cent., containing, besides, some silver, 
oxide of iron, etc. 

'' The first intelligence I received of the existence of this 
unexampled deposit of copper ore, was through M. D. 
Bullion, of Hunt county, Texas, who sent me a small 
piece of this ore in an envelope, for examination, with the 



VALUABLE COPPER DEPOSITS. 67 

remark, ' If this stuif is of any account, I can load up five 
hundred wagons, without digging, from a 320-acre tract/ 
Upon examination, I found it to be a highly interesting 
specimen of copper glance, (nearly a pure sulphuret), 
containing 55.44 per cent, of metal. Its geological con- 
nections are of the highest interest and proved that this 
metalliferous tract is a portion of the Permian formation, 
which stretches from Kansas down into Texas, and is the 
only example of this formation in the United States 

" In 1870, after traversing the cretaceous and carbon- 
iferous series northward of Weatherford, Parker county, 
I was very agreeably surprised by a grand panorama of 
outcroj^ping of this formation. This system (Permian), 
is extensively developed in Russia, between the Ural 
Mountains and the river Volga, in the north of England, 
and also in Germany, where it is mined for its treasures 
of copper, silver, nickel and cobalt ores. In Texas the 
ore is found on the hillsides and also on the surface, dvina: 
no trouble for mining or drainage. Four persons in ten 
hours took out six thousand pounds, averaging sixty per 
cent. Coal, timber, limestone, soapstone, and all the 
requisites for building furnaces and smelting ores are in 
the vicinity, and the projected line of the Southern Pacific 
railroad passes over the locality. At present, mining 
operations cannot be safely prosecuted, owing to the prox- 
imity of bands of prowling Indians. 

" The hills which I have traced throughout Archer, 
Wichita, Haskell and Clay counties, are nearly barren — 
towering above the most beautiful and fertile Mesquite 
prairies, fringed by the finely timbered bottoms of the 
tributaries of Red River, and are exceedingly picturesque. 

" Explorations of the copper veins, over the summits 
and sides of the hills, justify the conclusion that within 
the extent of one degree of longitude along the Little 



0g HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Wichita River, hardly a tract of 160 acres could be found 
without large accumulations of ore upon the surface. 
The vein lodes are parallel with the strata, but there is 
sufficient evidence that they partake of the nature of 

true veins. 

" Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel and Bismuth.— Leads 
of manganese, cobalt, nickle and bismuth are often met 
with The copper ore contains only 25 per cent of im- 
purities, is far superior to the ferro sulphuret of copper 
or copper pyrites generally worked for in England and 
in native copper ore as found at Lake Superior. It is 
easily smelted, and the strata in which it is found is more 
easily excavated than any other in which copper ores 

occur. 

" Lead and Silver.— These two metals are always as- 
sociated together in this State. The calciferous sandrock 
—which is the lead-bearing rock of Missouri— abounds 
in Texas, and the varieties found in it here are carbonate 
of lead, sulphuret of lead and molybdate of lead. The 
former two always contain such large quantities of silver 
as to be considered silver ore. A sample from a three 
feet vein in Llano county, gave a yield of 286 ounces of 
silver and 74.45 per cent. lead. It is -the carbonate ot 
lead in combination with the sulphuret, and owing to the 
large percentage of the former will be very easily reduced. 
The indications are very favorable for a very large quan- 
tity and excellent quality of ore. At present, lands in 
this section of the State are of very little value notwith- 
standing the abundance of minerals and timber. With a 
well developed mining industry established here, no other 
country could compete with this region, so far as regards 
fuel, construction timber and materials for building and 
sustaining a railroad. There are about 10,000 acres of 
vacant land, and the lands already located can be had tor 
a trifle— the rocks of which are silver and gold bearing. 



• IMMENSE lEON DEPOSITS. 69 

" The examination of shafts to a depth of fifty feet, chisel 
and drill marks, and other mimistakable evidences, leave 
no doubt that the Spaniards formerly worked these mines, 
and remains of the ore worked, show it to have been very 
rich. 

"Ieon. — The iron deposits of ]N"orthwestern Texas are of 
the most remarkable character, equalling in extent and 
richness those of Sweden, Missouri, New Jersey and New 
York. They include almost every variety — magnetic, 
spathic, specular and hematite ores. The largest deposits 
of magnetic iron ores occur in Mason, Llano and more 
Western counties. Immense loose masses of ore lie 
scattered over the surface, which have been U2:)heaved by 
igneous agencies from unknown depths below. Most of 
these are in true veins. As no true metallic vein has ever 
been traced downward to its termination, the supply is 
inexhaustible. The analysis of an average specimen gave 
96.890 per cent, of per-oxide of iron, with 2.818 per cent, 
of isoluble silicious substances — proving it to be a mag- 
netic oxide, which will yield 74.93 pounds of metallic iron 
to 100 pounds of ore. 

" The prevailing rocks are red feldspathic granite, gneiss, 
quartz, talcose and chloritic shists. Granite ridge sur- 
rounds the deposits, and veins of quartz traverse it in all 
directions. The limestone of the palezoic and cretaceous 
rocks are in the immediate vicinity, from which materials 
for flux can be easily obtained. A most remarkable de- 
velopment of hematite and limonite occurs on the w^aters 
of Red Kiver. It is found in regular layers of from fifty 
to sixty feet in thickness. Associated with these ores are 
various oxides of iron, suitable for pigments of red, 
yellow and brown colors distributed, forming regular 
layers of several feet in thickness. The largest amount 
is on vacant lands — subject to location by certificates. 



70 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" Coal. — The coal-bearing rocks of Texas occupy an 
area of not less than 6,000 square miles, embracing the 
counties of Young, Jack, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Brown, 
Comanche, Callahan, Coleman, and extending to the Ter- 
ritory of Bexar. The rocks contain the characteristics 
belonging to the coal measures of Missouri and other 
Western States. In general aj^pearance, this coal resem- 
bles that from Belleville, Illinois. The analysis gives, 
fixed carbon, 52 per cent.; volatile matter, 36 per cent.; 
ashes, 3 per cent. 

"This coal cokes with a great flame, without changing 
its form, and the development of this valuable mineral is 
destined to be of the greatest importance to the State. 

" Antheacite Coal, lighter and more brittle than the 
anthracites of Pennsylvania, has been found in various 
parts of the State, but I had no opportunity to visit the 
localities. 

" Lignites, Tertiary, and other coals of more recent 
origin, occuj^y an area of some 10,000 square miles — in 
connection with the true coal formation — on many points 
of the Rio Grande, in Webb, x\tascosa and Frio counties. 
They are mostly soft, sulphurous and ashy, but superior 
to German brown coals. 

" Asphaltum. — Asphaltum has been found in Hardin, 
Travis, Burnet, Llano and many counties on Red River. 
The earth for some distance around certain acid springs 
is charged with it, and may be employed for the purpose 
of illumination. For pavements, roofing and other uses, 
this material is too well known to require further mention. 

" Gypsum. — In the northwestern portion of the State 
is the largest deposit of gypsum known to exist in the 
world, spreading over two hundred miles on the upper 
Red River and its tributaries. This will be of great 
value as a fertilizer. Some of the specimens are as trans- 
parent as the purest glass, easily split into thin layers. 



THE FAMOUS BAT CAVE. 71 

" Salt. — There are a great many salt springs and salt 
lakes in this formation. Salt is manufactured in the 
great laboratory of Nature by solar evaporation. The 
most important locality producing almost an inexhaustible 
amount of salt, is Sal Del Rey, the greatest Salt Lake in 
Hidalgo county, and at the Horsehead crossing on Pecos 
River, Pecos county. The salt here is ready formed, and 
need only be shoveled up and taken to market. The 
water is so strongly impregnated that the human body 
cannot be made to sink in it. The salt is very pure and 
fit for table use, without refining. 

" Petroleum springs occur over a space of about fifty 
square yards, in Hardin county, and it is highly probable 
that larger supplies may be obtained by boring. The 
surface indications are certainly as favorable as those of 
the now famous oil wells of Pennsylvania and northern 
Ohio, prior to the discovery by deep boring. Extensive 
quarries of marble, roofing slate, grindstone, soapstone 
and asbestos, with a large class of metallic substances 
usually present in highly metalliferous regions — such as 
alum, cobalt, nickel, manganese, arsenic, etc. — are- 
abundant." 

Guano. — It is only a short time since this important 
article of commerce has been discovered in Texas ; and 
though only a few caves have been examined, there can 
be no question but there is an inexhaustible supply of 
guano concealed in our mountain caves. One has been 
found in Bexar county, twenty miles northeast of San 
Antonio, containing many acres ; forty feet under ground, 
with an unknown depth of Guano. Another immense 
deposit exists in a cave eight miles south-west of Bandera; 
and another in Williamson county, three miles from 
Georgetown. There can be no doubt that a thorough 
geological survey of our State will develop inexhaustible 
mines of wealth. 



72 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The following is from a newspaper published in the 
county in which the cave mentioned is located : 

" The Uvalde Umpire describes the famous bat cave 
in that county, and the operations of the Texas Gruano 
Company, formed about nine months or one year ago, by 
Mr, Huertzall, of Galveston, for the removal of the 
guano. The Umpire says : 

"The company have been making very satisfactory 
headway, removing from three to ten tons each day, which 
they immediately ship to Galveston, thence to Scotland, 
where use is made of it for different purposes, but princi- 
pally in the manufacture of ammonia and other medicals. 
The mountains where the bat cave is situated are about 
twenty miles north of Uvalde. Near the top of one of the 
highest in the range are the several openings of the cave. 
These entrances are facing north, the largest being about 
fifty feet in width, and twenty in height, the others being 
smaller, decreasing to a size not large enough to allow a 
man to get through. The cave increases in dimensions 
inside, and extends a considerable distance beyond where 
the workmen are engaged removing the guano, at a 
point 450 or 500 feet from the entrance. There is a tram- 
way constructed upon which are run cars or carts, with 
a carrying capacity of about one ton each. The motive 
power is a 'jack,' run by the same engine used in the 
operations of drying. The drying operation is a very 
ingenious construction, originated by Mr. Huertzall. It 
is an iron cylinder about 3 1-2 feet in diameter, resting 
upon a stone foundation, and directly beneath it is placed 
the fire ; in this cylinder runs a shaft to which are at- 
tached a number of small arms or paddles. The revolving 
of this shaft and paddles causes the guano to pass entirely 
through the cylinder, after which it is sufficiently dry to 
pack for shipment. It is expected that an improvement 



BATS INNUMERABLE. 73 

will be made in all the machinery used, so as to enable 
them to prepare 20 or 30 tons per day for shipment. It 
is supposed that the amount of guano in this cave is so 
great that, at the present rate of removing it, it will be 
years before the more accessible portions of it are re- 
moved. It would be utterly impossible for one to make 
even a fairly correct estimate of the number of bats inhab- 
iting the cave ; but that an idea may be given, we would 
state that for more than three hours they were passing 
out in a flock or continual flying procession, occupying 
the entire width of the openings of the entrance. " 



PART II. 

Texas Under Spanish 
Domination. 



FROM 1685 TO 1820. 



CHAPTER I. 

XANDING OF LA SALLE — MISFORTUXES— FORT ST. LOUIS, ON THE LAVACA 
RIVER— LA SALLE ASSASSINATED ON THE NECHES RIVER BY HIS OWN MEN- 
FORT ST. LOUIS IN RUINS. 

CA)LTH0UGH Spanish adventurers had, during the 
-^^ latter part of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 
passed through the interior of Texas, historians usually 
begin its history with the landing of the French under 
La Salle, on its soil, in the year 1685. After having 
descended the great river of the continent, and having 
planted the standard of France at its mouth, La Salle 
returned to France to procure the men and means for 
planting a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi in order 
to open a new route for commerce between France and 
her Canadian colonies. He was successful in his applica- 
tion at the court of Louis XIV. The king granted all 
that the great discoverer desired, and in a manner suitable 
to the importance of the enterprise and the dignity and 
munificence of the greatest of French kings. A commis- 
sion was issued, giving him authority to establish colonies 
in Louisiana, and placing him in command of the expedi- 
tion. A squadron of four vessels was provided and 
furnished by the king. The Joil, a frigate of thirty-six 
guns ; the Belle, of six guns, a present from the king to 
La Salle ; the Amiable, a shij") of some two hundred tons 
burden ; and a small vessel, the St. Francis, carrying 
munitions. Beaujeau, who commanded the Joil, was also 
commander or sailing master of the squadron, but under 






<^ 










SCEXE OX THE MISSISSIPPI 

In the time of La Salle. 



INDIAN DIFFICULTIES. 79 

the direction of La Salle, except in the business of 
navigating the ships at sea, until they should arrive in 
America. There vere seven missionaries, one hundred 
soldiers, thirty volunteers, and mechanics, girls, etc., 
making about three hundred in alL Among these were 
two nephews of La Salle. 

The squadron sailed from Rochelle, July 24, 1684. 
Disputes arose between La Salle and his naval commander 
on the outward voyage, which was a tedious one. The 
St. Francis was captured by the Spaniards. Land was 
discovered on the 26th of December, which they supposed 
to be the coast of Florida, and this induced them to 
change their course to the south-west. La Salle had 
miscalculated the latitude of the mouth of the river, and 
had been driven too far wesi* by the winds. According to 
Joutel, the historian of the expedition, a landing was first 
effected near Corpus Christi, early in January, 1685. 
Becoming satisfied that they had passed the mouth of 
the river, they re-embarked, and sailed uj) the coast, 
making an occasional landing, until February 13, (says 
Joutel — other accounts say 18th,) w^hen the Belle crossed 
the bar at Pass Cavallo, into a bay named by them San 
Bernardo — since Matagorda. On the 20th, the Amiable 
w^as lost in tr^dng to enter the harbor. Two temporary 
camps were established ; one on ^Matagorda Island, near 
the present light-house, and the other on the main-land, 
up towards Indianola. At first the Indians were friendly 
and hospitable, but difficulties arose between some of the 
privates and inferior officers and the Indians, and on the 
5th of March, Ory and Desloges were killed by them. 

After landing, the lYaval Commander became more and 
more quarrelsome, and finally, in a pet, sailed with the 
Amiable for France, taking with him her crew, and a 
xjonsiderable portion of the ammunition and supplies 



80 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

intended for the colony. La Salle was thus left with but 
one small vessel, the Belle, and in the summer she was- 
sent across the bay ^on an excursion, and was lost near 
Dog Island. This left the colony without the means of 
leaving the country by water. They crossed the bay to 
secure a better location for a permanent fort, and entered 
a river, which, from the number of buffaloes on the 
banks, they named Las Veches, or river of Beeves. 
(Joutel calls the buffaloes wild cattle, and the deer wild 
goats.) The summer was occupied in erecting the nec- 
essary buildings, and removing the stores to the new 
fort at Dimitt's Point on the Lavaca River ; with occas- 
inal excursions in various directions, in hopes of finding 
the great river. The company now consisted of about 
180 j^ersons. 

In January, 1686, leaving Joutel in charge of the fort. 
La Salle, with twenty companions, started upon an 
excursion to hunt for the Mississippi River. He traveled 
as far as the Brazos River, where he had the misfortune 
to lose one of his men, who was either drowned or de- 
voured by an alligator. Becoming satisfied that he was 
entirely too far to the west, he returned to the fort, having 
lost five of his men. 

While in Canada, La Salle had in his service a faithful 
lieutenant, De Tonti, the iron-handed. (He had lost one 
of his hands in battle, and had substituted one of iron.) 
De Tonti had been instructed by La Salle to descend the 
Mississippi River to the mouth of the Arkansas, and 
establish a fort, and collect supplies for the colony he was 
bringing out from France. 

Believing that his lieutenant would be found at the 
designated place, La Salle, about the last of April, with 
twenty companions, started, intending to discover the 
river at the point occupied by his faithful De Tonti. The 



LA SALLE AND HIS COMPANIONS. 81 

streams were swollen, and progress was difficult, but he 
finally reached the villages of the friendly Xassonite 
and Cennis Indians, on the Trinity and Neches Rivers. 
While camped on the latter stream, he and his nephew 
were prostrated by a fever. When they had sufficiently 
recovered to resume their journey, they found that the 
improvident hunters had nearly exhausted their ammu- 
nition, and it would be necessary to return to their fort 
for a fresh supply. Between deaths and desertions, La 
Salle now had but eight of the twenty men with whom 
he started. These, with five horses procured from the 
Indians, reached the fort in August. They found the 
number in the fort also greatly reduced, so that there 
were now but thirty-four remaining alive. 

Again, on the 12th of January, 1687, La Salle, with 
seventeen companions, started to the northeast. This 
time he took Joutel, leaving the fort with seventeen per- 
sons, including seven women, in charge of Sieur Barbier, 
who had just married one of the maidens brought out 
from France. In giving dates and the route of travel, 
we follow the journal of Joutel, though he tells us that 
he is not certain as to many of them. On Joutel's map 
there is a place laid down, called Bucon, about where the 
Texana and Victoria road crosses the Lavaca River. 
This is the point where La Salle camped on the night he 
left the fort. The next day they crossed a plain two 
leagues, to the Prince's (Navidad) River ; this they found 
swollen, and for two days traveled up its west bank. On 
the third day, by felling a tree, they succeeded in crossing 
their baggage. On Skull Creek they found an Indian 
village ; (probably Tonkawas) the French called it Habe- 
mos. On the 21st they crossed the river of Canes, 
(Colorado, about Eagle Lake). Heavy rains delayed 
them, and they crossed the river of Sand Banks, (San 



82 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Bernard) on the 26th. On Joutel's map are laid down 
successively, though under French names, Skull 
Creek, New Year's Creek, the Maligne, or Brazos River ; 
the Eure (San Jacinto), River of Canoes, so called because 
in his former voyage, La Salle had to procure canoes to 
cross it (the Trinity), the Neches, the Angelina and the 
Sabine. The streams between the San Bernard and Red 
Rivers are marked as having unknown mouths. In La 
Salle's first trip he had buried some provisions near his 
camp on the JSTeches River. These were found, but in a 
condition unfit for use, and they halted for a few days to 
procure a fresh supply. A j)arty was sent out to kill 
naeat. Some of the party had previously manifested a 
quarrelsome and insubordinate disposition. The leader 
of this party was Duhaut, who had persuaded Heins, a 
former buccaneer, Liotot and two others to join him in 
the conspiracy. It so happened that the five conspirators 
were out with the party killing and drying meat. They 
had a special spite towards Moragnet, La Salle's nephew. 
La Salle dispatched his nephew and two others to the 
camp for dried meat. Duhaut and Moragnet quarreled 
about some nice bits of meat, which the hunters claimed 
as a special perquisite, and Duhaut determined upon re- 
venge. That night, while the most of the men were 
asleep, Duhaut, Hiens and Liotot, with their axes, killed 
Moragnet and his friend Saget, and La Salle's faithful 
hunter, JSTika, who had followed him from Canada. The 
conspirators next resolved upon the death of La Salle, 
and an opportunity to execute their purpose was soon 
afibrded. He, uneasy at the long absence of his nephew, 
with Father Ansatase, the priest, and two Indians for 
guides, went to hunt the party, and after a few miles 
travel he found the bloody cravat of Saget, and saw 
buzzards flying in the air. He concluded the hunters 
were not far distant, and fired his gun. The conspirators 




INDIANS. 



DEATH OF LA SALLE. 85 

heard it and supposed it was La Salle. Duhaut and 
L'Archeveque, seeing La Salle approaching the place 
where they were, stopped, and Diihaut hid himself in the 
grass. Just as La Salle inquired of the other where his 
nephew was, Duhaut, from his concealment, shot the 
great captain in the head. He fell in the arms of the 
faithful j)riest ; he never spoke, but pressed the father's 
hand in token of recognition, and expired. The good 
father, with his own hands, dug his grave and erected 
over it a rude cross. The chief conspirators did not long 
survive. Duhaut was shot by Hiens, and Liotot by 
Rutel, a Frenchman who had been lost during La Salle's 
first journey, and had now rejoined his companions. 
Joutel, who succeeded to the command, with six compan- 
ions, after some delay, resumed their journey. Crossing 
Red River, June 16th, and pursuing their journey, they 
were gratified, on the 20th of July, by the sight of the 
French flag, floating over the fort erected by the faithful 
De Tonti at the mouth of the Arkansas River. 

Soon after the departure of La Salle's party from Fort 
Saint Louis, that place, so weakened, fell before the blood- 
thirsty Caranchuas,* though it is said that De Leon the 



* Jacob Grollet and John L'Archeveque, who were subsequently taken from 
among the Indians by De Leon, gave the following account of the destruc- 
tion of the fort. The Indiai^ referred to were another band of Caran- 
chuas, or possibly a band of the Lipans, from the west. The two French- 
men made in substance to the Governor the following statement: '• That 
while the Indians in the vicinity of the fort appeared to be friendly with the 
French, and they had no reason to suspect any bad Intentions or treachery 
from them, and at a time when the French were scattered about the bay 
constructing their fort, wliich they had named Saint Louis, and engaged in 
other peaceable pursuits, tliey were surprised and assailed by a large body of 
Indians, who had been watching thoni for some time, and all were killed 
excent five, wlio only owed their salvation to the promptitude of their llight 
«o V"^ friendly Asiuais." 



86 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



next year found a few of the survivors among the Indians, 
and restored them to their countrymen. 

The following map, from the journal of Joutel, indi- 
cates the portions of the State traversed by the French : 




JG84-IG8S 



CHAPTER II. 

OE LEON GOVERNOR OP MONCLOVA, IN TEXAS-FOUNDS PRESIDIO ON THK 
RIO GRANDE IN 1690— SUCCEEDED BY DOMINGO TERAN— ST. DENIS ON THE 
RIO GRANDE— CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN D'ALARCONNE AND LA HARPE— 
BELISLE ON THE COAST— INDIAN LEAGUE. 

)t(hIS expedition into Texas by the French was soon 
J- known in Mexico. The Count of Monclova became 
viceroy in JS'ovember 17, 1686, and one of the first acts 
of the new administration was to take measures to 
dislodge the colony of La Salle. A military post was 
established in the interior, named for the new viceroy, 
Monclova, and Captain Alonzo De Leon was appointed 
to the command, with the title of Grovernor of Coaquila, 
(afterwards spelled generally Coahuila). After settling 
aifairs to his satisfaction, at Monclova, De Leon started 
to dislodge the French from their post on the Lavaca 
river. With one hundred men he left Monclova in the 
spring of 1689, and arrived at the ruins of the old fort, 
April 22d. He penetrated the country as far as the 
villages of the Cenis Indians, and recovered a few of the 
colonists of La Salle, and humanely returned most of 
them to their own country. Having been informed of 
the murder of La Salle, and that one or two of the con- 
spirators were still among the Indians, he captured 
them, and they were condemned to the mines for life. In 
1690 De Leon again visited Texas. He founded the 
mission of San Juan Bautista, on the Rio Grande, at 



88 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Presidio, and projected the mission of San Francisco, 
near the old fort of La Salle. 

In 1691 he was superseded in the command by 
Domingo Teran, who became very much interested in 
Texas, and traversed the country as far as Red river. 
He projected quite a number of settlements and missions ; 
but his plans were frustrated by the hostility of the 
Indians. 

In 1712, Louis XIV, of France, granted to Anthony 
Crozat, September 14th, the Louisiana country, watered 
by the Mississippi and its tributaries. Two years later, 
Crozat, who was a merchant, sent Huechereau St. Denis 
on a trading expedition to the Rio Grande. When St. 
Denis returned through Texas, the Spaniards sent Domin- 
go Ramon, with a few soldiers and friars, to establish 
" missions." 

In 1718, war was declared between France and Spain. 
Early in the spring of 1719, St. Denis and La Harpe 
collected a small force and invaded Texas, driving the 
Spaniards from the mission establishments in the east, 
and i:>enetrated the country as far as San Antonio. Here 
they were met by the new governor, the Marquis De 
Aguayo, who had nearly five hundred soldiers, and was 
prepared to maintain Spanish authority in the province. 
St. Denis retired to Natchitoches ; but La Harpe 
remained among friendly Indians, on the JNTeches river. 
In the meantime, De Aguayo had been superseded by 
Don Martin D'Alarconne, as Governor of Texas. When 
D'Alarconne learned that La Harpe was in the Indian 
village, he addressed him the following note : 

'' Monsieur : I am very sensible of the j)oliteness 
that M. De Bienville and yourself had the goodness to 
show to me. The orders I have received from the king, 
my master, are, to maintain a good understanding with 



OFFICIAL COKRESPONDENCE. 89 

the French of Louisiana ; my own inclinations lead me 
equally to afford them all the services that depend upon 
me. But I am compelled to say, that your arrival at the 
Nassonite village surprises me much. Your governor 
could not be ignorant that the post you occupy belongs to 
my Government, and that all the lands west of the 
Nassonites depend upon New Mexico. I counsel you to 
advise M. De Bienville of this, or you will force me to 
oblige you to abandon lands that the French have no 
right to occupy. I have the honor to be, etc., 

De'Alarconne. 
" Trinity River, May 20, 1719." 

To this the French commander sent the following 
reply : 

"Monsieur: The order from his Catholic majesty, to 
maintain a good understanding with the French of 
Louisiana, and the kind intentions you have yourself 
expressed towards them, accord but little with your 
proceedings. Permit me to inform you that M. 
De'Bienville is perfectly informed of the limits of his 
Government, and is very certain that the post of the 
Nassonites depends not upon the dominions of his Catho- 
lic Majesty. He knows, also, that the province of Las 
Tekas (Texas), of which you say you are Governor, is a 
part of Louisiana. M. de La Salle took possession in 
1685, in the name of his most Christian Majesty ; and 
since the above epoch, possession has been renewed from 
time to time. Respecting the post of the Nassonites, T 
cannot comprehend by what right you pretend that it 
forms a part of New Mexico. I beg leave to represent 
to you, that Don Antonio De Minor, who discovered New 
Mexico in 1683, never penetrated east of the province, 
or the Rio Bravo. It was the French who first made 



^0 ^IISTORY OF TEXAS. 

alliance with the savage tribes in this region ; and it is 
natural to conclude that a river that flows into the Missis- 
sippi, and the land it waters, belongs to the king my 
master. If you will do me the pleasure to come into this 
quarter, I will convince you I hold a post I know how to 
defend. I have the honor to be, etc., 

De La Haepe. 
'' Nassonite, July 8, 1719." 

The above correspondence gives the gist of the contro- 
versy between France and Spain in reference to the 
ownership of Texas. It happened, fortunately for the 
French, that during the same year in which the above 
correspondence took place, D'Alarconne, not having been 
re-inforced, as he requested, so that he could exj^el the 
French from East Texas, resigned his office and returned 
to Mexico. And the same year, another comj)any of 
French, under Mons. Belisle, in sailing for the mouth of 
the Mississippi, landed, as La Salle had done before them, 
in Matagorda Bay. (See Belisle). Belisle having thus 
formed an acquaintance with Texas, and a league with 
some of the civilized Indian tribes, was sent back in 1721, 
by the enterprising De Bienville, to plant a French colony 
on the waters of Matagorda Bay. After a feeble effort to 
maintain a settlement, the project was abandoned, and 
with it the French claim to Texas. 

In 1768, France transferred her Louisiana possessions 
to Spain ; but in 1800, Spain retroceded the country to 
France ; and in 1803, Bonaparte sold it to the United 
States. After the latter Government obtained posses- 
sion, the claim to a part of Texas was again revived under 
the right acquired by its occupancy by La Salle. 

While these disputes were pending, the settlements of 
ihe French in Louisiana, and of all the Spaniards in 



DEFEAT OF THE NATCHEZ. 91 

Texas, were threatened with utter extermination by a 
formidable Indian league, in 1729. The numerous and 
powerful tribe of Natchez, in conjunction with kindred 
tribes in Louisiana, succeeded in enlisting the Comanches 
and Apaches in the attempt to drive from the country at 
once, both the Spaniards in Texas and the French in 
Louisiana. Fortunately this plot was disclosed to Saint 
Denis by some of his friends among the Indians. He 
immediately mustered a small force and entered the ter- 
ritory of the Natchez and defeated them before they had 
time to rally for a fight. At San Antonio, Governor 
Bustillos was engaged in introducing and settling the 
new families from the Canary Islands, and the Indians 
were troublesome and defiant until 1732, when he 
organized a military expedition and entered their territo- 
ries and chastised them. 



CHAPTER III. 

MISSION ESTABLISHMENTS — FIRST MASS — MISSIONS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER — 
ADAES, AES, ALAMO, CONCP:PCION, LA ESPADA, GUADALUPE, LA BAHIA, LA TRIN- 
IDAD, LORETTO, NACOGDOCHES, ORQUIZACO, REFUGIO, ROSARIO, SAN FERNAN- 
DES, SAN JOSE, SAN SABA. 

/TV HE period in which the Spaniards occupied Texas — 
-L 1690 to the- Mexican Revolution in 1820 — has been 
not inappropriately called "The Mission Period." The 
discovery of the American Continent opened to the crowded 
population of Europe a new door for enterprise ; and 
they were not slow in entering it. The adventurers who 
first visited this country had two objects in view. The 
first was to add to the dominions of their respective sov- 
reigns ; and the second, to extend the Christian religion. 
The establishment of missions accomplished both these 
purposes — possession of the country was secured, and 
provision made for the conversion of the aborigines. 
Our knowledge of the history of these grand old struct- 
ures in Texas, is very meager ; but we give in a condensed 
form all the facts accessible. 

In 1690, Alonzo He Leon, as we have seen, when on 
his route to Texas, founded on the Rio Grande the Mission 
and then the Presidio of San Juan Bautista. Having 
arrived in the neighborhood of La Salle's abandoned 
fort, he projected a mission to be called San Francisco, 
after the founder of the order of Saint Francis. The first 
mass was celebrated by the fathers accompanying De 
Leon, on the 25th of May, 1690. The misaiou was never 
built. 



spa:nish missions. 95 

'' In 1691," says Mayer, page 218, '* the province of 
Asinais, or Texas, as it was called by the Spaniards, was 
settled by some emigrants, and visited by fourteen Span- 
ish monks, who were anxious to devote themselves to the 
conversion of the Indians, and a garrison and mission 
were at that tune estabhshed/' The location of this 
estabhshment can now hardly be identified. The Indians 
were troublesome, andfrequent removalstook place. We 
quote again from Mayer: " Alarconne, the Governor, 
early in 1718, crossed the Medina, \\ath a large number 
of soldiers, settlers and mechanics and founded the to^vn 
of Bexar, with the fortress of San Antonio, and the 
mission of San Antonio Yalero. ' ' This was not the fii'st 
settlement of the neighborhood, as Margil and Saint 
Denis found a considerable population there in 1714. 
Bexar was so named for the Duke of Bexar, then Vice- 
roy. ' 'Alarconne, ' ' saysMayer, ' 'pushedontothecountry 
of the Cennis Indians, where having strengthened the 
missionary force, he crossed the river Adaes, which he 
called the Rio de San Francisco de Sabinas, and laid the 
foimdation of a fortress withm a short distance of the 
French fort at ;N'atchitoches, named by him the Presidio 
de San Miguel Arcange de Lmares de Adaes. These 
estabhshments were reinforced dm'ing the next year, and 
another stronghold was erected on the Orquisacas," 
(probably the Trinity or San Jacmto) . 

These Texas missions were conducted by monks of the 
order of Samt Francis, from the colleges of Quaretero 
and of Zacatecas. In the west, locations were selected 
capable of u-rigation. Large ti-acts of land were given 
tothemission, and as soon as practicable substantial stone 
buildings were erected. Among those builduigs was, 
first, a chapel for worship, which also answered for a 
fortress in case of danger. A considerable area was 
8 



96 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

inclosed with a stone wall, and buildings erected for the 
accommodation of the priests, the soldiers, and such 
domestics as might be necessary to cultivate gardens and 
attend to the domestic animals. The task assumed by 
the missionaries was not a light one. Father Marat, in 
1712, complained that " it was necessary first to trans- 
form these Indians into men, and afterwards to labor to 
make them Christians." 

It is difficult to fix accurately either the location or 
date of these early establishments. The buildings first 
erected were frequently temporary and removals often 
took place. Then, one projected a mission, and some one 
else established it. New invocations and new names 
were also given. For convenience, we will name the prin- 
cipal missions in alphabetical order. 

Adaes — Our Lady Del Pilar [of the Baptismal Font of 
Parish). — As we have seen, Mayer attributes the founda- 
tion of this mission to De Alarconne. Other authorities 
ascribe its foundation to Ramon, in the time between 1715 
and 1718. It was erected into a Presidio in 1781. 
Besides holding the country against the French, its 
object was to convert the Adaes, a small band of Caddo 
Indians. It was never very prosperous as a mission. 
Monsieur De Pages, who visited it in 1768, describes it 
as then consisting of "forty houses " besides the church. 
In 1790 it was entirely broken up, and the few Christian 
Indians transferred to San Antonio, and a labor of land 
known as the Labor de Los Adaenis assigned them, 
near the church of the Alamo. In 1805, when Bishop 
Feliciana Maria visited the Sabine in company- w; th 
Governor Cordero, he baptized two hundred neophytes in 
the old church. That was probably the last time it v as 
used for worship. 

Aes — Our Lady de Los Dolores, — was established in 



THE ALAMO. 97 

1716, or 1717, for a small tribe "of Indians near San 
Agustine on Aes or Ayish Bayou. It was broken up in 
1772 and a few Indians removed to San Antonio. 

The Alamo. — The most important of these missions is 
that of Alamo ; this has been not inaptly called the 
Thermopylae of Texas, as here Travis and his heroic band 
re-enacted the part performed by the brave Spartans 
nearly twenty-three centuries before. The name and 
location of this mission were frequently changed ; it was 
commenced on the Rio Grande in 1700, under the name 
of San Francisco Solano ; in 1703 it was removed to a 
place called San Ildephonso ; in 1710 it was transferred 
back to the Rio Grrande ; about the year 1716 or 1718, 
probably at the suggestion of Father Margill, it was 
removed to San Antonio and located at the San Pedro 
Springs under the name of San Antonio de Valero, from 
Saint Anthony of Padua and the Duke of Valero, then 
Viceroy of Mexico ; in 1732 it was moved to the Military 
Tlaza in the city, and in 1744 transferred across the river 
to its present location, when it took the name of Alamo — 
Poplar Church. The corner stone of the building was laid 
with the usual ceremonies, May 8th, 1744 ; a slab in the 
front wall bears date 1757 ; it ceased to be used as a par- 
ish church in 1793. 

Mission Concepcion la Purissima de Acuna. — Im- 
maculate Concepcion de Acuna^ — from Juan de Acuna, 
Marquis of Casa Fuerta, Viceroy in 1722 ; this, in a 
tolerably good state of preservation, is situated on the left 
bank of the river about two miles below the city. The 
foundation stone was laid March 5th, 1731, by Captain 
Perez and Father Bergara ; it was never very prosperous, 
.and had been discontinued as a mission parish when 
■visited by Pike in 1807. 

Espada — San Francisco de La Espada. — Mission of 



98 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Saint Francis of the sword — intimating that those who' 
founded this establishment belonged to the church mili- 
tant, who had to wield the literal, as well as the spiritual 
sword. It was first located on the Medina River, but. 
owing to the frequent attacks of the Apaches, for greater- 
security it was removed to the San Antonio. This was in 
1731 ; it was completed in 1750. Portions of the walls 
and the sword-shaped tower are still standing. 

Guadalupe — Victoria; Our Lady of — in Victoria 
county, was probably projected by Ramon, in 1714. Its 
object was to found a Presidio, and open ditches for the 
irrigation of the river valley. Extensive ruins still remain 
in what is called Mission Valley. 

La Bah I a — Del Espiritu Santo — (Mission of the bay 
of the Holy Spirit) at Groliad, was commenced about the 
year 1718, though the place was visited by De Leon in 
1687. Domingo Teran, who founded so many of the 
Texas missions, projected this. Bishop Odin is authority 
for the statement that the mission on the east side of the 
river, and since known as Aranama, was the original 
Espiritu Santo Mission, while that on the west side was 
called La Bahia. The former was for the Aranama In- 
dians, while the latter was for the Caranchuas. The old 
Goliad Mission Church is still used. 

La Trinidad. — It is supposed that this mission was 
projected, and the foundation laid, in 1691, by Governor 
Teran and the party of monks that entered the country 
with him that year. This mission possibly gave its name 
to the Trinity River. It was situated a little below the 
town of Alabama. Owing to trouble with the Indians and 
the overflow of the river, the establishment was soon aban- 
doned for one near Nacogdoches. 

LoRETTO, Our Lady Of. — A mission by this name was 
projected by Ramon, upon the San Bernardo (Matagorda) 
Bay, about 1721. The enterprise was soon abandoned. 



SPANISH MISSIONS. 



99 



l^ACOGBOCK-ES— Our Lady ^— The foundation of this 
mission was laid by Ramon, July 9, 1716, but in conse- 
quence of the disturbances between the French and 
Spanish, the Indians were, in 1772, transferred to San 
Antonio. A small garrison was, however, generally kept 
at the place, to watch the movements of the French at 
Natchitoches. In 1778, was laid the foundation of a 
stone house, for the garrison, which still stands. 

Orquizacco— (9/^r Lady ^— was established for the 
benefit of a small tribe of Indians of that name, on the 
San Jacinto river ; founded in 1715 or 1716, and aban- 
doned in 1772, and the Indians removed to San Antonio. 

Refugio — Our Lady of, — was founded in the town of 
the same name, in 1790 or 1791. This was the last estab- 
lishment of the kind undertaken by the Franciscans in 

Texas. . 

RosARio— About 1730, a mission of this name was 

started a few miles from Goliad. 

San Fernandes. — Was not exactly a mission, but a 
parish church built in San Antonio, or San Fernandes, 
in 1732. In 1868 it was rebuilt as a cathedral ; a portion 
of the old walls in the rear of the new building forms 
the sacristy of the present church, occupied by the 
■Spanish-speaking population of San Antonio. 

San Jose de Aguayo.— From Aguayo, governor of 
Texas in 1720. This, on the right bank of the river about 
four miles below San Antonio, was commenced in 1718 
and completed in 1771; it was the most elegant and 
beautiful of all the Texas Missions. A celebrated artist 
by the name of Huicar was sent out from Spain, who 
spent years in carving the statues and other ornamental 
work of this building. About ten years ago the dome and 
portions of the arched roof fell in ; vandal hands have 
defaced the statue of the Virgin Mother and Child, and 



100 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

that of Saint Gregory and other figures, and beautifulljr 
carved work in the front. After the secularization of the 
Texas Missions in 1703, by Pedro de Nava, this mission 
was discontinued and the land distributed to the Indians. 
The next year there were reported, Christian Indians, 
men 27, women 26, boys 11, girls 14, widows 6, totaj 84 ; 
Pagans, men 6, women 5, 1 boy and 3 girls, total 15 ; in 
all 99. This church w^as visited by Lieutenant Pike in 
1807 ; at that time it had hardly enough Indians to per- 
form household duties. It soon afterwards ceased to be 
occupied as a place of worship. Standing in solitary 
grandeur upon a beautiful plateau, it is annually visited 
by thousands who can but admire this monument of the 
zeal and enterprise of the Franciscan fathers of the last 

century. 

San Juan Capistran.— Is about six miles below San 
Antonio, on the east side of the river. It was established 
in 1731, but was never very prosperous and is now in 
ruins. The ruins, however, speak volumes for the skill 
of the architect who designed and the laborers who 
erected the edifice. 

San Saba.— This mission, located in Menard county,, 
on the river to which it gave its name, was founded in 
1734, by a company of fathers from Santa Fe. The 
mission was doing well, and the fathers were encour- 
aged to hope for the speedy Christianization of the- 
numerous and war-like tribes of Comanches, who main- 
tained friendly relations with the ecclesiastics. But in 
1752, a silver mine, called Las Almagres, w^as discovered 
in the neighborhood of the fort. This drew to the place 
a number of miners and adventurers, some of whom 
quarreled with the Indians, and at a time when the few 
soldiers were absent from the fort. The exasperated 
savages fell upon the defenseless missionaries and put 



ANCIENT RUINS. 101 

them all to death, not sparing even the domestics. This 
was a sad blow and an ungrateful return for the self- 
sacrificing labors of the fathers. 

Besides the establishments we have mentioned, other 
ruins are found in various parts of the State ; but even 
the names of these old missions are now unknown. At 
the head of a canon of the Nueces river in Edwards 
county, thirty-five miles from Uvalde, there is a large 
stone building, with many evidences of its having been 
once occupied. The missionaries probably shared the 
same fate with their brethren at San Saba. This was in 
the territory occupied by the Apaches. Eight miles 
below these old ruins, in the valley of the Nueces, in 
Uvalde county, there is another old establishment in 
ruins, and others in difi'erent places ; some of which had 
been so far completed as to give evidence of having been 
occupied, while others were destroyed by the Indians 
before completion. 

In 1794, Don Pedro de Nava, then Governor of Texas, 
secularized all the missions in the province, thus transfer- 
ring their control from the monastic orders to the secular 
dergy. 



CHAPTER IV. 

COLONISTS FROM THE CANARY ISLANDS ARRIVE AT SAN ANTONIO— TEXAi AT 
THE OPENING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY— NOLAN'S EXPEDITION— DIF- 
FICULTIES BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES— WAR IMMINENT- 
AVERTED BY MYSTERIOUS DIPLOMACY. 

)t(hE first attempt to introduce colonists into Texas 
-L was made by the Marquis of Casa Fuerta. Before 
he became viceroy, he had visited Texas and formed a 
high opinion of the capabilities of the country. Mainly 
through his influence the king was induced to defray, 
from the royal treasury, the expense of transporting fam- 
ilies to the new settlement on the San Antonio river. If 
Mr. Kennedy is correct in his statement, these were pretty 
expensive colonists. It took $72,000 to bring sixteen 
families from the Canary Islands to Texas. Among the 
families who then came were those of Rodrigues, Mancha- 
ca, Atoche, Delgado, Arocha, Travyosa, Cavalla, Mueto 
and Flores. The Navarros were from Corsica ; Veramen- 
dis and probably the Seguins and La Garzas, from 
Mexico. The village took the name of San Fernandes, 
from Ferdinand III of Spain. 

Opening of the Nineteenth Century. — As we have 
seen, the zealous Franciscans were heroically engaged in 
the good work of Christianizing the Indians. The large 
number of magnificent buildings and ruins, still scattered 
through Texas, are perpetual monuments of their zeal 
and fidelity. But they were not remarkably successful. 
The Indians often proved intractable ; and internecine 



'I 



Nolan's expedition. 105 

wars diminished their numbers. After the lapse of a 
century, comparatively few of the mission establishments 
could boast a permanent population, and the vast region 
now known as Texas was comparatively an uninhabited 
wilderness. San Antonio then contained a population of 
about 3,000 ; and Groliad and Nacogdoches as many more. 
Texas had no sea port and no legitimate commerce, though 
her bays were occasionally visited by the Buccaneers. 
Nor was there any overland commerce. Almonte esti- 
mated that there were, at that time, possibly 100,000 
cattle and 40,000 horses in the province. 

An American family had occasionally ventured into 
East Texas. James Gaines, a relative of General Gaines, 
of the United States Army, had opened a ferry at the 
principal crossing of the Sabine River. Robert Barr and 
Samuel Davenport had settled on the Neches River, and 
taken the oaths as subjects of the Spanish crown. 

Nolan's Expedition. — In 1797, Philip Nolan, an Irish- 
man by birth, entered Texas to procure a supply of cavalry 
horses for the army of General Wilkinson, then in the 
Mississippi Territory. This was with the consent of the 
Spanish authorities. Having a letter from Baron Caron- 
delet. Governor of Louisiana, Nolan had no difficulty in 
procuring his horses. He was a careful observer and drew 
an accurate map of the country. Ostensibly for the same 
purpose, Nolan again visited Texas in the year 1800. 
The Spaniards were becoming suspicious of the Americans, 
and Manuel Gayoso, who had succeeded Carondelet as 
Governor of Louisiana, wrote to De Nava, commander of 
the eastern internal provinces, that Nolan was a dangerous 
character, who, in conjunction with Wilkinson, was plot- 
ting against the interests of Spain, and advised his arrest. 
The commandant at Nacogdoches was accordingly 
instructed to watch Nolan and not permit him to enter 



106 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the province. But he passed higher up the country, and 
entered by way of Red River. He had with him fourteen 
Americans, five Spaniards and one negro servant (some 
accounts say two). When this party arrived in the 
neighborhood of the Tehuacana Hills, in what is now 
Limestone county, they halted and erected a block-house, 
and built pens, and prepared to capture mustangs. 

Musquis, the Spanish commander at Nacogdoches, 
ordered to capture Nolan's party, left his post on the 4th 
of March, 1801, with sixty-eight regular soldiers, and 
thirty-two volunteers. He crossed the Trinity on the 
11th, and guided by Indian spies, reached the neighbor- 
hood of Nolan's camp on the 20th. He had a small 
cannon, which was so planted as to bear directly upon the 
block-house. Two of the Mexicans in Nolan's ranks 
deserted to the enemy, one of them carrying off Nolan's, 
rifle. Before this, two of the Americans having learned 
that Nolan intended to make war upon the Spaniards, 
abandoned the party and reported Nolan's design to the 
authorities at Nacogdoches. . A short conference was held 
between the two commanders, when Nolan retired to his 
block house and prepared to fight. He was killed by the 
first discharge of the enemy's cannon. Bean succeeded 
to the command, and kept up the fight for several hours. 
Finally, the little party surrendered as prisoners of war, 
under the promise of good treatment, and of bemg 
liberated at Nacogdoches and sent to the United States. 
Instead of being released and sent home from Nacogdo- 
ches, they were put in irons and sent to San Antonio,.the 
first Americans seen in that city. From the latter city 
they were marched across the Rio Grande, and kept in 
prison many weary years. Three made their escape ; 
one died in prison, and after they had been six years 
prisoners, an order came from the King of Spain, to have 



SPANISH HOSTILITY. 



107 



every fifth man hung. The order was, to execute only 
those taken in arms against the royal authority. Three 
of the men were not in the house during the fight. 
There were but nine left, and the humane judge decided 
that only one should be executed. The nine agreed to 
throw dice, the one throwing the lowest number to be the 
victim. The lot fell on Ephraim Blackburn, who threw 
but four, and he was immediately executed. The survi- 
vors were sentenced to ten years hard labor. Bean was 
the only one who ever revisited his native land. (See 
Bean). 

Among the Spaniards there was a growing hostility ex- 
hibited towards the Americans. The policy of their 
government was exclusive. Philip II. had declared that 
nothing but Spanish commerce should float on the Gulf 
of Mexico, and on the land absolute non-intercourse 
was proclaimed. Salcedo, the commander at Monterey, 
said if "he had the power he would stop even the birds 
■ from flying across the Sabine." By a tacit understanding,, 
the Aroyo Hondo, a tributary of Red River about half 
way from the Sabine to Natchitoches, had been recognized 
as the boundary between the Spanish and French pos- 
sessions, though the old Spanish maps extend their 
territory to the Calcasieu River. Between the United 
States and Spain there were other unsettled questions 
besides those relating to boundaries. After the purchase 
of Louisiana, the former revived the claim which France 
had asserted to Texas. 

We need not enumerate the other irritating, unsettled 
questions. In his message, at the opening of Congress, 
in December, 1806, President Jeflerson said : ^ " With 
Spain our negotiations for a settlement of difliculties 
have not had a satisfactory issue." As a precautionary 
r ^asure, Mr. Jefi'erson had ordered Major Porter, of the 



108 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

army, to take possession of the old French post at Natchi- 
toches. Soon afterward the Spaniards threw a force across 
the Sabine into the okl Spanish post and mission of Adaes. 
About the same time the Spaniards began concentrating 
troops on the right bank of the Sabine. Early in the 
spring the garrison at Natchitoches was reinforced by the 
arrival of Lieutenant Kingsbury from Fort Adams, with 
four field pieces, and three companies of infantry. Early 
in June, Generals Herrera and Cordero, with twelve hun- 
dred veteran Spanish soldiers, reached Nacogdoches, 
whereupon Governor Claiborn called out the militia of 
Louisiana, and General Wilkinson hastened towards the 
Sabine with all the available forces from New Orleans. 
Negotiations had failed ; the two powerful nations were 
concentrating their armies prepared to fight ; the com- 
manders were defiant, and both nations were waiting in 
anxious solicitude for the commencement of hostilities. 

And now occurred, on the banks of the Sabine, without 
the interposition of any civilian, one of the most important 
and most mysterious diplomatic adjustments that this 
continent has witnessed. Herrera and Wilkinson met in 
secret council. It was conjectured, apparently, not with- 
out reason, that Wilkinson was cognizant of the move- 
ments of Aaron Burr ; further that he had promised 
Burr his aid. Two secret messengers of Burr were said 
to be in Wilkinson's headquarters. The two generals 
met, and instead of provoking each other to battle, entered 
into the treaty of " the neutral ground." They agreed 
that a narrow strip of country between the Arroyo Hondo 
and the Sabine should be respected as "neutral" and 
occupied by neither government until a definite treaty 
fixed, permanently, the boundary between the two nations. 
The next morning the following order was issued by 
Wilkinson : 



termination of the campaign. 109 

" Morning Order, East Bank of Sabine, ) 
November 6th, 1806. j 

" His excellency, General Herrera, the military chief 
immediately opposed to this corps, having agreed to 
withdraw his troops to JS'acogdoches, and to prohibit their 
re-crossing the Sabine River pending the negotiations 
between the United States and Spain, the objects of this 
expedition are accomplished, and the camp will be, of 
course, evacuated to-morrow or next day, and Colonel 
Gushing will lead the troops to Natchitoches. 
" Signed, 

Walter Burling, Aid-de-Campr 

This sudden termination of the campaign was not 
satisfactory to the American soldiers There was a 
suspicion that General Wilkinson had acted dishonestly, 
in reference to the project of Burr. " It was impossible," 
says Monette, " for him to divest hiriiself of the suspicion 
that settled over him that he had extorted money from 
the Spanish Governor by exciting his fears as to the 
powerful invasion contemplated by Burr, and which could 
be arrested only by the most energetic intervention of 
the American commander-in-chief, with the whole of the 
army and means at his disposal. His troops retired 
indignantly from the Sabine, many of them fully 
convinced that they had been robbed of their anticipated 
laurels by the cupidity of their commander, who had 
entered into dishonorable negotiations, and that money, 
and 'not the sword, had terminated the campaign." 

It was boldly asserted at the time, and has-been often 
repeated, though an investigation failed to verify the 
assertion, that Herrera agreed to give Wilkinson $300,000 
for his influence in defeating the scheme of Burr ; and 
further that $120,000 was paid at the time, having been 



110 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

transported from San Antonio on mules. Ten days later, 
Burling was dispatched to Mexico on a secret mission ; 
rumor said it was to receive the other $180,000. 

The scenes which followed the retreat from the Sabine, 
when viewed from our present stand-point, have a 
strangely ludicrous asj^ect. The reader will please 
remember that, at this time, about the only force under 
the control of Burr was a few score of men and boys 
encamj^ed on Blennerhassett's Island, near Parkersburg, 
West Virginia ; and that the arms of this company 
consisted, mostly in implements of husbandry ; and that 
they w^ere preparing to descend the river in flat boats, 
.and oj)en a new plantation for Burr and his unsuspecting, 
but dishonored friend, Blennerhassett, on the lands 
purchased from Baron de Bastrop by Burr. 

On arriving at New Orleans, Wilkinson commenced 
the most vigorous preparations for defending the city 
against Burr. He prepared a flotilla to meet the flat- 
boats of the latter up near Vicksburg ; and dispatched 
Lieutenant Swan to Jamaica to detach the commanders of 
the British navy at that station from the Burr movement. 
He put the forts near JNTew Orleans in a thorough state of 
defence, and supplied them with a great quantity of am- 
munition and munitions of war. He called out the militia 
■of Louisiana and Mississippi ; and proclaimed martial 
law. He arrested and held in military custody every one 
suspected of sympathy with Burr ; and especially every 
stranger from Ohw^ where Burr was supposed to have 
unbounded influence. The whole country was patrolled 
by Wilkinson's guards, and every one who could not give 
a satisfactory account of himself was thrust into prison. 
A true and life-like description of these scenes must be 
reserved for the pen of some future Cervantes. Albeit, 
Wilkinson was not another knight of La Mancha. He 



ARREST OF AARON BURR. Ill 

liad been in actual war ; had proved himself a brave and 
gallant soldier ; nor was he carried away with groundless 
fears. His views were clear, and his mind well-poised. 
All this bluster was not to defeat Burr ; but to affect De 
Nava at Monterey and his royal master in the halls of the 
Montezumas. It was useless. The viceroy refused to 
listen to Burling, and referred him, for the payment of 
the money, to theintendant at Vera Cruz, for which place 
he ordered him immediately to depart. Upon his arrival 
there, the intendant refused to furnish him wdth anything 
but a guard, and ordered him to take passage immediately 
for New Orleans. The arrest of Burr, and the return of 
Burling^ produced a wonderfully tranquilizing effect, not 
only upon the commander, but also upon the New Orleans 
public. (SeeBurr, Wilkinson and Herrera, in biography.) 



CHAPTER V. 

MAGEE'S expedition— BERNARDO GUTjiERRES— MARCH TO GOLIAD— DEATH OP" 
MaGEE— DESPERATE FIGHTING — THE VICTORIOUS REPUBLICANS, ON THE 
WAY TO SAN ANTONIO, GAIN A SPLENDID VICTORY AT THK ROSILLO CREEK 
—SHAMEFUL MASSACRE OP SPANISH OFFICERS— BATTLE OF ALASAN— 
REPUBLICANS DEFEATED AT THE BATTLE OP MEDINA— WHEN THE ROYAL- 
ISTS AVENGE THE DEATH OP THEIR BROTHER OFFICERS. 

/Tv HE " neutral ground " became the favorite resort of a 
J- band of lawless freebooters, who lived by depredating 
upon caravans o It was an important part of the duty 
of the soldiers stationed at Natchitoches to protect trav- 
ellers and traders in passing through this dangerous 
territory. Lieutenant Augustus W. Magee, a graduate 
of West Point, was one of the officers employed in this 
work. At this time, the Republicans in Mexico had been 
defeated and many of them driven into exile. Bernardo 
Gutierres, who had been engaged with Hidalgo in the 
revolutionary movements in Mexico, had taken refuge at 
^Natchitoches. In long interviews between ^lagee and 
Gutierres, the former conceived the idea of reviving the 
project of Burr ; rescuing Texas from Spanish domina- 
tion, and organizing a republic. He enlisted a number 
of the leading " heroes " of the neutral ground, who, with 
their followers, were ready for any enterprise that prom- 
ised excitement and booty. With the assistance of John 
M'Farland and Samuel Davenport, who had been Indian 
agents, an alliance was formed with some of the Indian 
tribes in the neighborhood. Bernardo secured the co- 




CYPRESS CREEK, NEWTON COUNTY 



magee's expedition. 115 

operation of the Spanish Republicans in the East. A 
considerable force was thus assembled, ready to enter 
the province. As they confidently expected the assist- 
ance of the Mexicans in the West, it was thought best to 
give Bernardo the nominal command, though all recog- 
nized Magee as the real leader. The staft* officers were 
Kemper, Perry, Ross, Slocum and Dr. Forsyth. The 
captains were, Gaines, Lucket, Orr, M'Kim, Taylor, etc. 
There was, at that time, a strong prejudice against the 
native Spaniards, hitherto the governing class. These 
were called, in derision, "Grachupins." One of the rally- 
ing cries of the newly-organized party was, " Death to the 
Gachupins !'' They assumed the name of " The Repub- 
lican Army of the North." 

About the middle of June, Bernardo, with the advance 
party, numbering 158 men, crossed the Sabine, and had 
a skirmish with the Spanish guard, near the bank of the 
river. Two of the Republicans were killed, and three 
wounded ; but the Sj^aniards were driven in disorder to 
Nacogdoches, and evacuated that place on the arrival of 
Grutierres. 

In the meantime, Magee had resigned his commission 
in the U. S. Army, visited New Orleans, and, with the 
help of Davenport, succeeded in collecting a good supply 
of munitions of war. To secure enlistments, each soldier 
was promised $40 per month, and a league of land. 

There is a great discrepancy in statements as to the 
number in the Republican army when it was reorganized 
on the banks of the Trinity river. Yoakum, following 
M'Kim, makes the number nearly eight hundred ; while 
M'Lean, who was in the expedition, fixes the number at 
three hundred. We have chosen the smaller as the more 
probable number. At the Trinity, the party was re= 
inforced by two additional companies, under Captains 
9 



116 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Scott and M'Farland. When they took up the line of 
march for the West, their supplies were " ten or twelve 
beeves, and tifteen mules, loaded wdth flour and military 
stores." 

They crossed the Brazos in October, and arrived at 
Goliad on the 7th of JN'ovember. The Mexican garrison, 
instead of offering resistance, joined the Republican ranks. 
A few days later. Governor Salcedo and General Herrera 
arrived with trooj^s from San Antonio. Herrera had a 
small park of artillery, and having placed his guns in 
position, on the 20th of IN^ovember made a furious assault 
upon the town. This was gallantly met by the Repub- 
licans. After some further unsuccessful attempts to 
take the place by assault, the Spaniards contented them- 
selves with merely keeping up the siege. The Republi- 
cans occasionally sallied out for provisions. In one of 
these was fought the battle of the White Cow, as they 
were after a cow of that color for food. In one of these 
skirmishes the Rej^ublicans lost a few of their horses. 
They had not calculated on the possibility of being closely 
confined in a little fort, and a number of them, including 
Captains Davenport and Scott, resigned and returned to 
their homes on the Sabine. Most of the new Sj^anish 
recruits deserted, and about the first of February, 1813, 
Magee died of consumption. 

After the death of Magee, Samuel Kemper was elected 
commander of the Americans. Bernardo still held the 
nominal command of the whole. On the 10th of Februa- 
ry, the Spanish made another desiderate attack upon the 
beleaguered garrison ; and at one time succeeded in 
getting into the town. But the Rei^ublicans had posses- 
sion of the old Mission. From this they dashed out, and 
in a hand-to-hand fight drove the Royalists from the 
place. In this fight, the Republicans had eight killed 



SPANISH FAILURE. 117 

.and thirty wounded. The Sj^aniards lost 100 killed. 
(This number is given in the account of Col. M'Lean, 
late of San Antonio, who was in the fight. Yoakum 
places the loss of the Sj)aniards at 200). 

After this failure, the Sj)aniards raised the siege and 
retired to San Antonio. They were soon followed by the 
exultant Republicans. This was on the 16th of March. 
Their force now consisted of 270 Americans, 200 Mexi- 
cans and 30 Coshattie Indians. On the route they were 
reinforced by Captain M'Farland with 300 Lipan and 
Tonkawa Indians. (These are the figures given by Hall 
and M'Lean; Yoakum, following M'Kim, makes the 
number of Americans 800. The probability is, that men 
were constantly arriving and departing, and the numbers 
were never very accurately known). 

Salcedo and Herrera prepared to meet the foe outside 
of the city. They sent out all of their available force to 
a thicket on the Rosillo creek, nine miles below the 
town. They had a park of artillery, but the Republi- 
cans, anticipating an attack, marched in the order of 
battle, and when the Royalists opened fire upon them, 
returned it so effectually, and charged so vigorous^ 
upon the thicket, that the Spaniards soon left the field 
and retreated in disorder to the city. It is said the officer 
in immediate command was so mortified that he killed 
himself rather than return in disgrace. In history this 
is known as the battle of Rosalis, or Rosalio, and there 
is great confusion among writers as to the place and the 
particulars of the fight. The time, too, ranges from the 
1st of March to the 4th of April ; and as to numbers 
engaged, the Spaniards are variously, estimated at from 
1500 to 2500, while the number of the Republicans 
ranges from 500 to 1200. 

On the 2d of April, according to Spanish authority, the 



118 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Republicans entered this city. Seventeen prisoners^ 
found in the Alamo, were released, who at once joined 
the ranks of their deliverers. The j)ublic stores, arms, 
provisions and military chest, furnished a grateful sup- 
ply to the needy adventurers in the Republican army. 
Each soldier, besides his wages, received a gratuity of 
fifteen dollars, a suit of clothes, and an order for two 
horses or mules out of the public caballada. The Indians 
were supplied with two dollars worth of vermillion, 
together with presents to the value of one hundred and 
thirty dollars, and sent away rejoicing. The Mexican 
soldiers were paroled, and the officers reserved for a sad 
and horrible fate. 

After arriving in San Antonio, Gutierres was among 
his own countrymen, and began to exercise a real as well 
as a nominal authority. He organized a governing junta 
composed of some of the leading Republicans in the city. 
Captain Delgado, to avenge the death of his father, 
induced the junta to pass a secret decree for the execu-^ 
tion, by drum-head court martial of all the Spanish 
officers held as prisoners of war. He well knew the 
Americans would never sanction such an act of barbar- 
ity, and the prisoners were marched out of the city under 
pretence of sending them to the coast to be forwarded to 
^ew Orleans. When near the Rosillo battle ground, by 
order of Delgado, who had them in charge, they were 
halted, stripped and their throats cut. The late Col. J. 
A. Navarro gives the following account of this slaughter : 
" Some of the assassins, (Delgado's company), with brutal 
irony, whetted their knives upon the soles of their shoes 
in the presence of their victims. The day following the , 
assassination, I myself saw this band of murderers, led 
by their commander, Antonio Delgado, halt in front of 
the government buildings ; I myself heard them inform 



EXECUTION OF PRISONERS. 119 

Bernardo Gutierres that the fourteen victims had been 
put to death. The following list comprises the victims : 
Spaniards — Manuel de Salcedo, Governor ; Simon de 
Herrera, Governor of New Leon ; Geronimo Herrera, 
Lieutenant Colonel ; Juan de Echeverria, Captain ; Jose 
Groscochia, Captain ; Francisco Pereira, Captain ; Jose 
Mateos, Captain; Juan Ignatio Arambido, Captain; 
Gregorio Amado, Lieutenant; Antonio Lopez, citizen, 
Mexicans — Miguel de Arebs, Captain ; Louis, his son, 
Lieutenant; Francisco, his son, Ensign; Juan Caso, 
Lieutenant." 

The execution of these prisoners of war was so dis- 
pleasing to the Americans that Kemper, Ross, Hall and 
a number of others left in disgust and returned to the 
United States. Those who remained elected Perry as 
their commander. But these soldiers, intoxicated with 
their success, indulged in various unsoldierly excesses in 
the city, but they were not long permitted to remain idle. 

Early in June another Spanish army appeared in the 
neighborhood, under the command of Don y Elisondo. 
So unexpected was the approach of this new army, that a 
company of Republicans, out grazing their horses, were 
captured ; and Elisondo might then have marched without 
opposition into the city, but he halted on the heights of 
thex\lasan and commenced throwing up rude breast- works. 
He sent in a friendly message to the citizens, advising 
them to surrender to the royal arms. As an inducement 
to this, he proposed to parol all the Americans, and per- 
mit them to depart to their homes. He probably thought 
this the safest way to dispose of men who, in battle, 
might prove dangerous foes. But these brave men had 
no idea of leaving the city as paroled prisoners without a 
fight. The Mexicans, who at first were disposed to sub- 
mit to Elisondo, changed their minds when he demanded 



120 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

seventeen of the leading citizens as prisoners. They- 
probably conjectured that these men were to be put to 
death to avenge the murder of Herrera and his compan- 
ions. While they amused Elisondo with the hopes of a 
bloodless triumph, they rallied their disorganized bands, 
and, under the leadership of Grutierres, Perry and 
Manchaca, silently, on the night of June 4th, (McLean 
says June 8th,) marched out to attack the unsuspecting' 
Spaniards. It was near daybreak when they assaulted 
Elisondo's fortifications. They succeeded in entering his 
works, and tore down the Spanish flag, and unfurled their 
own tri-color in its place. The Spaniards rallied and 
retook the breast- works. For four hours the battle raged 
with great fury, but finally the Royalists were driven * 
froixi the field with a loss of about three hundred killed 
and as many wounded. The Republicans had five killed 
and thirty wounded. 

After this fight Gutierres left San Antonio and retired 
with his family to the Sabine. He was succeeded in the 
command by the famous General Toledo. Toledo 
re-organized the civil administration, and did all in his> 
power to reduce the army to a state of discipline, no easy 
task with such a class of adventurers. He well knew 
that the Royalists would not surrender a city of such im- 
portance as San Antonio without another efibrt for its 
recovery. 

The next general sent to capture the city was 
Arredondo, commander of the eastern internal provinces, 
at Monterey. The new commander, with his army of" 
about four thousand men, halted on the Medina river,, 
southwest of the city, and threw up fortifications. He- 
arranged them in the shape of a horizontal h> , with the' 
open end towards the city. To meet this force Perry had 
about three hundred Americans, and Toledo and Man- 



CRUELTY OF THE SPANISH COMMANDER. 121 

chaca about six hundred Mexicans. On the march to the 
battle-iield, Perry, according to McLean, was joined by his 
old commander, Kemper, in company with Judge Bullock 
and six or eight other Americans. The battle was fought 
August 18th. The Republicans were rushing forward 
with great impetuosity, when Toledo saw that they were 
entering into the trap set by Arredondo, and ordered a 
halt. The men, not understanding the reason for the 
order, continued to press on. They displayed a heroic 
courage, and would probably have won the day, but in 
the midst of the fight, Musquis, one of the captains in 
their ranks, deserted with his whole company to the 
enemy. Thus deserted and betrayed, these brave men 
were finally thrown into disorder and compelled to retreat. 
The retreat soon became a rout. The fugitives fled to- 
wards the Sabine, and were hotly pursued by their 
relentless foes. The pursuing party was cavalry, under 
the command of Elisondo, still chafing under his recent 
defeat. All who fell into his hands were incontinently 
butchered. Seventy or eighty of these unfortunate men 
were overtaken at the Spanish Blufi*, on the Trinity River. 
They were marched to an island of timber, at the junc- 
tion of the San Antonio and La Bahia roads, where a deep 
trench was dug for a grave, across which a piece of tim- 
ber was placed. After tying the prisoners, ten at a time, 
they were placed on this piece of timber and shot, their 
bodies falling into the trench. Among the victims of this 
butchery were Colonel Manchaca and Captain Antonio 
Delgado. 

" Two days after the battle," says Mr. Yoakum, " Gen- 
Arredondo, having his wagon loaded with wounded and 
dying, marched in triumph into San Antonio. Here 
commenced a scene of barbarity which that place had 
never before witnessed. Seven hundred of the peaceable 



122 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

citizens were seized and imprisoned. Three hundred of 
them were confined during the night of the 20th of 
August in one house, and during the night eighteen of 
them died of suffocation. From day to day others were 
shot without any form of trial. The cruelty of the 
Spanish commander went even further. He had a prison 
for females. It was tauntingly called the Quinta. Here 
were imprisoned five hundred of the wives, daughters 
and other female relatives of the patriots ; and for being 
such, they were compelled daily to convert twenty-four 
bushels of Indian corn into the Mexican cakes called 
tortillas^ for Arredondo's army. After thus having satis- 
fied his appetite for blood and revenge, the Royalist 
commander found an opportunity, about the 1st of Sep- 
tember, to collect and bury the bones of Salcedo and his 
staff. By this time Elisondo had returned from the 
Trinity, driving before him on foot the widows and 
orphans of those he had there slain. The property of 
the patriots was all confiscated." 




"^W '\[i 



W^l/^- 



TKLNITY RIVER, SCENE NEAR LIBERTY 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE REPUBLICANS AT GALVESTON — AURY, PKRRY, MINA — EXPEDITION TO SOTO 
LA MARINA — LAFITTE, THE PIRATE — LONG'S EXPEDITION — DISPERSED AND 
DRIVEN FROM EAST TEXAS, LONG RALLIES A SECOND TIME AT GALVESTON — 
TAKES GOLIAD — IS SENT BY THE SPANISH REPUBLICANS TO THE CITY OF 
MEXICO WHERE HE IS MYSTERIOUSLY MURDERED— MRS. LONG HEROICALLY 
AWAITS HIS RETURN— CONCLUSION OF THE PERIOD.* 

/TV HOUGH the Republicans had been totally defeated 
-L in Texas, a new organization, under Morelos, had 
taken place in Mexico. One of the measures adopted by 
the new party included the occupancy of the coast of Texas ; 
one of the most important 23oints on which was the island 
and harbor of Galveston. Here a glance at the earlier 
history of this locality may not be amiss. 

We think it more than probable that La Salle, in 
hunting for the mouth of the Mississippi River, visited 
Galveston in 1685-6. 

It is likely that the next visitant to the island were the 
irregular seamen, the buccaneers and fillibusters, who, in 
the latter part of the eighteenth and the beginning of the 
nineteenth centuries, preyed upon Spanish commerce in 
the Gulf of Mexico.f 

* Sketches of most of the men mentioned in this chapter will be 
found in their appropriate place in our Biographical section. 

t Buccaneer was derived from bucan, dried meat, as these men lived 
principally upon dried meat and fisli. In the map of Joutel there is a place 
on tlie Lavaca River, marked as Bucan, because there tlie French killed 
buffaloes and dried the flesli. As to the Avord fiUibuster, DeQuincy sa3^s : 
" This word is constantly spelt by our own and the American journals as 
fillibustiers ox fiUibuUeros; but the word of nearly two centuries back, anions^ 
the old original race of sea robbers, French and English, that made irregu- 
lar war upon the Spanish shipping and maritime towns, wasy?/i^Mrf/>r." 



126 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Galveston aflforded a good harbor and a safe retreat 
to this class of famous freebooters, and was with 
them a favorite place of resort. 

On old maps the island has various names. On the 
map in the possession of the Galveston Historical Society,, 
it is called San Louis, the name said to have been given_ 
by La Salle. On that map, Matagorda Peninsula is 
marked as Islede Calabras— Snake Island— a name often 
applied in other maps to Galveston. On another old 
map the eastern end of the island is called Punta de Cal- 
abras, from its fancied resemblance to the head of a snake.. 
The name by which the island is now called was from the 
Count de Galves, a governor of Louisiana under Spanish 
rule, and afterwards Viceroy of Mexico. While the 
Spaniards never conceded that the French had any claim 
to Galveston, yet when Louisiana was under Spanish 
dominion, Galveston was reckoned a part of Louisiana. 
It was during this period that we find the present name 
first used. Gayarre, in his history of Louisiana, in giving 
the population of the dififerent parishes for the year 
1788, gives the population of Galveston as 268. 

The first attempt to occupy the island by any recognized 
government was by the struggling Republicans of MexicO' 
during the period of her Revolution. Don Jose Manuel 
Herrera was the minister of the Mexican patriots to the' 
United States. He spent most of his time in New Orleans,, 
where he became thoroughly informed of the advantages, 
of Galveston as a naval station for the Republicans, and 
he took measures to occupy it. He sailed to the island 
on the 1st of September, 1816, taking with him Commo- 
dore Louis de Aury with a squadron of twelve or fifteen 
small vessels. Aury was of French origin, but had been 
an officer in the navy of New Granada, stationed at Car- 
thagena. He had the reputation of a brave, skillful and 



XAVIER MINA. 127 

humane officer. On the 12th of September a meeting was 
held on the island, and a government organized. Aury 
was chosen civil and military governor of Texas and 
Galveston island. He took the oath of iidelity to the 
Republic of Mexico ; the several branches of public ad- 
ministration were arranged ; the Republican flag raised, 
and Galveston declared a port of entry of the Mexican 
Republic. The vessels of Aury were at once dispatched 
to prey upon Spanish' commerce ; and they were so 
successful that they soon almost banished the Spanish 
flag from that Gulf which Philip II. had threatened to 
convert into a Sj^anish lake. 

On the 24th of JN'ovember, the party on the island was 
reinforced by the arrival of Xavier Mina, with about 200 
men and a few ships. Mina was a native of Navarre. In 
1808 he abandoned his studies in the University of Sara- 
gossa, and became a guerrilla chieftain against the 
French. He won distinction, and acquired the title of 
Captain General of Navarre and Upper Arragon. Having 
been captured and imprisoned, he succeeded in making his 
escape, and sought refuge in England. He found friends 
among some of the English nobility, and a special friend in 
Gen. Scott, of the United States army, then in London. 
He at first intended to attempt the conquest of Florida, 
in conjunction with Toledo ; but Toledo having deserted 
to the Spaniards, Mina sailed for Galveston, intending 
from this point to make a descent upon the coast of 
Mexico. Mina threw up a mud fort west of the point 
occupied by Aury, and active preparations were made 
for his contemplated expedition to Mexico. 

While Aury and Mina were occupying the island, 
Perry had taken possession of Bolivar Point with about 
100 men. That enterprising oflicer, after escaping from 
the disastrous battle of Medina, in 1813, had returned' to 



128 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Louisiana, and at once commenced his preparations for 
another campaign against Mexico, While several of his 
associates were indicted in the United States District 
Court for a violation of the neutrality laws. Perry 
escaped, by fixing his encampment west of the Sabine. 

This comparatively large number of men was well 
supplied with provisions and other necessaries by the 
captures of Aury's privateers. Avowedly, they only 
depredated upon Spanish commerce ; but, unfortunately, 
Aury had taken into his service some men of desperate 
character, who made captures of a>ny vessels found in the 
Gulf. Among the captures were a number of slavers ; 
and the slaves were smuggled into Louisiana, in viola- 
tion of the laws of the United States, which denounced 
the slave-trade as piracy. This induced the Collector of 
Customs of 'New Orleans to write to Mr. Crawford, the 
Secretary of the Treasury, at Washington, as follows : "I 
deem it my duty to state that the most shameful viola- 
tions of the slave act, as well as our own revenue laws, 
continue to be practiced with impunity by a motley mix- 
ture of freebooters and smugglers at Galveston, under 
the Mexican flag, being, in fact, the re-establishment of 
the Barrataria band, somewhat more out of the reach of 
justice. The establishment was recently made there by 
a Commodore Aury, with a few small schooners from Aux 
Cayes, manned in a great measure with refugees from 
Barrataria, and mulattoes." Another letter to the 
Treasury Department says of Aury that " his principal 
dependence for men was upon one hundred and thirty 
brigand negroes, a set of desperate and bloody dogs." 
After the fall of Napoleon, Generals Lalleman and Ricaud 
of his staff, with about one hundred ofiicers, entered 
Texas, ascended the Trinity River and erected a fort, 
intending to cultivate the vine. Not succeeding to their 



SLAVE TRADERS. 129 

satisfaction, some of these officers enlisted in the service 
of Aury. Notwithstanding the efforts of the New Orleans 
custom officers to break up the slave trade at Galveston, 
it was still carried on, as the ships of Aury often captured 
slavers. The customary price of the negroes was one dollar 
per pound. Among the most noted of the slave traders, 
were the three brothers by the name of Bowie, John J., Re- 
zm, and James, the hero of the Alamo. In 1818-19, the lat- 
ter was conveying a lot of seventy negroes up to Alexandria 
when they made their escape. He followed them to the 
Colorado River, but was unable to re-capture them. 
They probably fell in with the Indians and found protec- 
tion. And this may account for the fact that in Western 
Texas an Indian is occasionally found of decided African 
features and color. Debow's Review is authority for the 
statement that the three Bowies made $65,000 in their 
speculations in negroes. 

The forces at Galveston consisted of those of Aury, who 
enjoyed the title of civil and military Governor, with 
between three hundred and four hundred men ; Mina 
with two hundred more, and Perry wdth about one hun- 
dred on Bolivar Point. Each commander was independ- 
ent, and somewhat jealous of the others. Perry and 
Mina wished to invade Mexico ; but to this Aury objected, 
beincr content to maintain himself at Galveston. In 
March, 1817, one of the privateers brought word of the 
defenseless condition of the town of Soto La Marina, 
about sixty miles up the Santander river, and Aury 
consented to assist in its capture. The expedition sailed 
from Galveston on the 15th of April ; Yoakum says on 
the 6th. The expedition turned out disastrously. After 
landing and taking possession of the town, the three com- 
manders disagreed, and in disgust, Aury, with the boats, 
sailed for the Texas coast. Finding Galveston Island 



130 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

occupied by Lafitte, he landed at Matagorda, but soon 
afterward abandoned the Texas coast. Perry, believing 
the force left too small to effect anything, with about fifty 
companions, started back to Texas by land, a distance of 
five hundred miles through an enemy's country. He 
reached Goliad in safety and might have passed on into 
the United States, but he determined to capture the small 
garrison at that place. While negotiating for the posses- 
sion of the town, a troop of cavalry sent in pursuit by 
Arrendado arrived, and he was thus attacked in front and 
rear. After fighting until his men were all killed. Perry 
fell by his ow^n hand ; at least that is the common report. 
It is not impossible that he and a portion of his men 
shared the fate which befell the heroic Fannin at the same 
point, twenty years later. 

Mina, after having been abandoned by his companions, 
gained some splendid victories. On the 8th of June he 
gained one at Valley de Mais. At Peotillos, on the 17th, 
he defeated an army of 1,700, but lost sixty of his own. 
On the 18th he captured a garrison of three hundred men 
at Real de Rinos. But his force w^as gradually w^asted 
away by continual fighting, and the Rej^ublicans of the 
country, did not, as he expected, rally to his standard. 
He was finally overpow^ered at Venadito on the 27th of 
September, and shot at Remedies, by order of the Vice- 
roy Apodaca, November 11, 1817. 

When the expedition left for Soto La Marina, there 
were some thirty or forty persons left on the island. 
Some of these had formerly been associated with Lafitte. 
Six of the most influential of those remaining met on 
board the schooner " Carmalita," belonging to Bartholo- 
mew Lafou, late of JNTew Orleans, and organized a govern- 
ment. L. Derieux w^as appointed Governor ; John 
Ducoino, Judge of Admiralty ; Richard Espaonol, 



LAFITTE ASSUMES COMMAND. 131 

Notary Public and Secretary ; A. Pirenneau, Major du 
Place, and Roiisselin, Collector. Some others having 
arrived on the 20th, another meeting of about twenty 
j^ersons was held on the schooner " Jupiter" for ratifying 
the new government. At this meeting Lafou was 
Secretary, and Jean Jannet w^as aj^jDointed Marine Com- 
mandant. This organization was professedly in the 
interest of the Republican party in Mexico. But 
unquestionably their main object was the plunder of 
Spanish commerce in the Gulf of Mexico. 

It was probably as late as September, 1817, when 
Lafitte reached the island and assumed command. Jean 
Lafitte was a Frenchman by birth, the eldest of three 
brothers, who all became seafaring men. Visiting South 
America, he at Carthagena fitted out a privateer, and 
commenced his semi-piratical career. In a visit to 
Charleston, South Carolina, he became involved in a love 
affair, and had a quarrel with a rival, whom he killed in 
a duel. About the. year 1811, he took possession of the 
island of Grande Terre, afterward Barrataria, on the 
coast of Louisiana. They so preyed upon commerce, 
and demoralized the trade of New Orleans, that 
the Governor of Louisiana ordered them to disperse. 
As they paid no attention to his order. Governor Claiborne 
offered a reward of $500 for the head of Lafitte. Lafitte, 
not to be outdone in that species of generosity, returned the 
compliment by offering a reward of $15,000 for the head 
of the Governor. The Barrataria establishment was 
broken up in June, 1814, by Commodore Patterson of 
the United States navy. Durins; the war with Great 
Britain the British Government proffered Lafitte a com- 
mission as post captain in the British navy ; but while 
the pirate chief had not decided what course to pursue. 
Bean landed at the island, having embarked in one of 



132 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Lafitte's vessels on the coast of Mexico. As Bean knew 
Greneral Jackson well, Lafitte concluded to accompany the 
latter through the swamps to New Orleans, to Jackson's 
headquarters. By enlisting in Jackson's army, and 
fighting bravely in the great battle of January 8th, Lafitte 
won the confidence of Jackson, who secured for him a full 
pardon from President Madison. But at the close of the 
war he returned to his former haunts on the gulf, and 
re-commenced his piracies. When he arrived in Galves- 
ton he was in the prime of life, a well-formed and hand- 
some man, about six feet and two inches in height, 
strongly built, with large hazel eyes, black hair, and 
generally wore a mustache, dressed in a green uniform 
and an otter-skin cap. He was kind to his men, but a 
born commander. To strangers visiting the island, he 
exhibited a princely hospitality. He at once rebuilt the 
village formerly occupied by Aury, and called it Cam- 
peachy. His own house was the most conspicuous in the 
village and was painted red. The village was towards 
the east end of the island ; a location since- known as 
Sacarac, fi'om the timber landed there. The "Americans," 
says Littell's Living Age, "call timber ships, sacaraps." 
Lafitte bore a commission from the Republican party 
in Mexico, as Governor of Texas ; his men gave him the 
title of Lord of Galveston, w^here he exercised almost 
absolute authority. Among his more conspicuous lieu- 
tenants, Latham was an Englishman ; Jim Campbell, 
Churchill, Franks, Roach, Lambert, Brown and Francis 
were Americans. The two last named were hung by 
Lafitte for depredating on American commerce. Marotte, 
Jean Batista, Rio-Martin, Pluche, Girol and Felix were 
Frenchmen, who had probably entered Texas with Lalle- 
mand. Some of the men had their wives, or females 
claimed as such ; Lafitte had a Creole mistress, and there 



BATTLE OF THE "THREE TREES." 135 

were occasional balls and other festive scenes in which 
this mixed multitude participated. Lafitte's favorite ship 
was the " Pride," a foretopsail schooner, captured from 
the slavers. She mounted fourteen guns, and was always 
accompanied by two felluccas, and an armed boat, the 
Calebra. These buccaneers sometimes quarreled among 
themselves. On one occasion, Jim Campbell charged 
Marotte with concealing a box of gold watches taken in 
one of their prizes. When Lafitte was informed of the 
theft, he took up the quarrel, and when Marotte gave 
him an impertinent answer, a challenge passed between 
them. The two were preparing for a duel, when Marotte 
confessed the theft. Lafitte so far pardoned him as to 
spare his life, but expelled him from the island, thus 
illustrating the honor among that class of men. On 
another occasion, the crew of the " Pride " were preparing 
for a mutiny. Lafitte, who was surrounded with inform- 
ers, was notified of the intended mutiny, and was so 
thoroughly prepared, that at the first sign of an outbreak, 
he killed five or six of the men, and reduced the others 
to subjection. . 

In 1819, James Gaines visited the island in the interest 
of General Long, in the hope of enlisting the co-operation 
of the pirate-chief in Long's expedition ; but Lafitte, 
warned by the fate of Mina and Perry, while he expressed 
a sympathy with Long, did not join his enterprise. It 
was while Gaines was on the island that the battle of the 
" Three Trees " was fought. Some of Lafitte's men had 
taken forcible possession of a Caranchua squaw, and the 
Indians, for revenge, killed some of the buccaneers. It 
was said a party of 300 of them were encamped near the 
Three Trees. Lafitte marched against them with two 
pieces of artillery and 200 men. Fighting continued for 
two or three days, when the Indians, after suffering severe 
10 



136 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

loss, abandoned the island. While Gaines was enjoying 
the generous hospitality of the island chief, some rich 
Spanish prizes were brought into j^ort, and the " doub- 
loons were as plentiful as biscuits." As an illustration 
of how little was known of the location of Galveston island, 
we may state that Long had also dispatched Randal Jones 
to intercede with Lafitte. But Jones went via the Brazos 
River, supposing that the island was at the mouth of that 
stream. Jones was at the mouth of the Navasot, prepar- 
ing to descend, when the party was attacked by the Mex- 
icans. Lafitte's men, in spite of his remonstrances, dep- 
redated upon the commerce of the United States, and that 
government sent Lieutenant Kearney with the brig Enter- 
prise, to break up the piratical establishment. Lafitte 
remonstrated ; but when he found that Kearney was in 
earnest, he discharged most of his men ; and taking 
Lieutenant Cochran and about sixty men on the Pride, 
he bade a final adieu to the coast. Lafitte died at Sisal, 
Yucatan, in 1824. Cochran afterwards entered the 
Mexican navy, and rose to the rank of Commodore. 
Long's Expedition. — Dr. James Long was a native of 
Tennessee ; in 1812, was a surgeon in Jackson's army ; 
after the close of the war, married Miss Jane Wilkinson, 
resigned his position in the army and became a planter. 
In 1819, he was active in getting up a public meeting in 
Natchez, for revolutionizing Texas and Americanizing 
the province, and subscribed liberally to the scheme. It 
was then expected that Gen. Adair, of Kentucky, would 
lead the expedition ; but that gentleman declined, and 
Long was selected as commander. With seventy-five 
men, Long left Natchez, June 17th. Recruits continued 
to arrive, so that by the time he reached Nacogdoches, 
Long found himself at the head of about three hundred 
men. At that place he organized what he called a legis- 



long's expedition. 137 

lative council, consisting of Horatio Bigelow, (who started 
a newspaper, the first in Texas), Hamlin Cook, Stephen 
Barker, Jno. Sibley, Samuel Davenport, John C. Burnett, 
J. Child, (afterward on the Supreme Bench in Missis- 
sijopi), Bernardo Gutierres, and Pedro Procillo. The 
independence of the country was proclaimed, and steps 
taken to survey and dispose of the public lands. During 
the month of July, Mrs. Long reached Nacogdoches, 
having left her two children with her sister, Mrs. Calvitt, 
at Alexandria, (the youngest child died soon after having 
been left). Mrs. Long traveled on horseback, in company 
with Randal Jones. 

General Long, evidently, did not anticipate serious 
'Opposition on the part of the Sj^anish authorities. He 
wished to occupy a large scope of country, and hoped to 
establish an extensive and lucrative trade. With this 
view, he scattered his small force from Red river to Gal- 
veston bay, entirely too much for mutual support. On 
the 20th of July, Major Cook was sent to Pecan Point, to 
secure the co-operation of the citizens. Maj. Smith, who 
entered the country by water, was stationed with forty 
men at the Coshattie village, on the Trinity river. David 
Long, with another company, was sent to the Robinson 
crossing of the Trinity ; Captain Johnson, to the falls of 
the Brazos, and Captain Walker to the mouth of the 
Navasoto river at Washington. 

Long deemed it of great importance to secure the 
assistance of Lafitte, and sent first James Gaines to 
Galveston, and then started for the same place himself. 
When he reached the Coshattie village, he heard of the 
approach of the Spanish army, under Colonel Perez, and 
at once dispatched couriers to the various companies, to 
concentrate at that point. His wife also sent him w^ord 
that, owing to the drunkenness of Major Cook, who had 



138 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

returned from Pecan Point and assumed command, the 
soldiers at Nacogdoches were very much demoralized. 
It was now too late to remedy the blunder of scattering 
his small force. On the 11th of October, Caj^tain John- 
son was surprised at the falls of the Brazos, and himself 
and ten of his men captured. The Mexicans reached the 
mouth of the Navasoto on the 15th, when Walker, with 
his small company, hastily retreated towards the Coshat- 
tie village, leaving their baggage to the enemy. The 
fort on the Trinity was next attacked, and David Long, 
brother of the General, was killed, When news of these 
disasters reach Nacogdoches, a panic seized the popula- 
tion, and all fled towards the Sabine for safety. Long 
reached the place just after it had been evacuated. He 

had sent word to his wife to retire to the house of a mutual 

* 

friend for safety. When the General reached the house 
he found it deserted. Fortunately, both himself and 
wife safely reached the American side of the Sabine. 
The party at the Coshattie village retreated down the 
Trinity in boats to Bolivar Point. 

Long, undaunted in spirit, hastened through the 
swamps, recrossed the Sabine, and joined his few remain- 
ing followers at Bolivar Point. To secure assistance, in 
an open boat he made his way along the coast to New 
Orleans. There he met with encouragement from General 
Ripley and other old friends. He also met Pelacios and 
Milam, who were preparing for a descent upon Vera 
Cruz. Having secured some recruits and munitions of 
war, he returned to the Texas coast, reaching Galveston 
the very day that Lafitte, in his favorite ship, the Pride, 
sailed out of the harbor for the last time. Gen. Long's- 
object was the occupancy of Texas, and the establishment 
of a government over the country. He did not contem- 
plate an invasion of the country west of the Nueces,, 
which was then the western boundary of the province. 



REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. 139 

Long's first object was the capture of Goliad, so that 
he could have some claim to the control of the country. 
During the summer of 1821, with fifty-two men, in an 
open boat of Captain Williams, and with two pirogues, he 
started down the coast, towards Goliad. * 

Long landed at Muskeet Point, and on approaching 
Goliad, the small garrison retired, and he took peaceable 
possession. In the meantime, Mexico had revolutionized 
and become Republican ; and three days after Long took 
possession of the town, three hundred cavalry, belonging 
to the Republic of Mexico, appeared at the place. It 
seemed incongruous to fight, and Long w^as persuaded to 
lay down his arms, and enter into peaceable relations with 
the new comers. After being disarmed, Long's men were 
treated very much like prisoners of war. The General 
w^as sent forward, under a guard, to Laredo, where his 
soldiers, after a few weeks, joined him. At Monterey, 
they were kept eight months, when Long was again sent 
forward and his companions saw no more of him. After 
reaching the city of Mexico, at the solicitation of Joel R. 
Poinsett, American Minister, Long was liberated. A few 
days afterward, when stepping into an office to transact 
some business, he w^as shot dead by a soldier. The motive 
for this act of barbarity has never been disclosed. Some, 
without any sufficient apparent grounds, have surmised 
that Pelacios, dreading the influence of Long in Texas, 
where he was to be the Governor, had the brave General 
put out of the way. After Long had left his men, they 
were sent to Saltillo, where they were joined by Milam, 
who had been betrayed and arrested by Pelacios. When 
they reached the city of Mexico, they were first drafted 

*Yoaknm gives Lon^ a much lars^er force; but the numbers here 
put down were furnished by John M'ilenry, one of the party, -vrho still 
lives in Victoria county. 



140 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

into the Republican army, but afterward, at the solicita- 
tion of Mr. Poinsett, released and sent to J^orfolk, 
Yirginia, in the United States ship John Adams. 

Mrs. Long had been left at Bolivar Point, with her 
child and a negro girl, with a few men to guard the fort. 
The men became impatient at Long's delay ; their stock 
of provisions was low, and they threatened to leave the 
heroic woman in her lonely fort on the beach. She remon- 
strated : " You may all leave me," said she, " but I will 
never go from hence. My husband said he would soon 
return. If I die, he will at least see my bones, and 
know that I, at least, was faithful to him." In spite of 
this pathetic appeal, her guard left her with her child 
and negress. Her provisions gave out and she suffered 
intensely during the winter of 1821-22. To add to her 
critical situation, during this trying time, another child 
was born, which, however, did not live long. When the 
Caranchuas threatened to attack her fort, she fired the 
cannon and kept them off. In the spring of 1822 a ves- 
sel, having some of Austin's colonists, entered the harbor 
of Galveston. From them she learned the sad fate of her 
husband. Subsequently, she kept a hotel in Brazoria.. 
From that point she went to Richmond, and opened a 
plantation on which she still lives. For more than sixty 
years she has borne the name of her cherished and 
honored husband, and will carry it to the grave. 

Conclusion of this Period. — We have now reached 
the close of the period of Spanish domination in Texas. 
As in all the provinces of Spanish America, the govern- 
ment was strictly personal, and liberal or despotic, as the 
whim or caprice of the commanding officers might dictate. 
The highest military officer, next to the viceroy, was the 
intendant. Texas was at the beginning of the present 



NAMES OF GOVEENOKS. 141 

century attached to the intendancy of San Luis Potosi. 
This officer was also called the commander of the eastern 
internal provinces. His headquarters were at San Luis 
Potosi, Monterey, or at Monclova. In 1801-11, Nemicio 
Salcedo was the commander. From 1812 to the close of 
the period, Joaquin Arredondo. 

From 1691 to 1725, Texas was united with Coahuila 
and the following persons filled the office of governor : 
1691, Domingo Teran; 1714, DonGaspardo de Anaya; 
1718, Don Martin De'Alarconne ; 1720, Marquis of San 
Miguel de Aguayo ; 1723, Fernando Perez de Almazan. 
After this, Texas had a separate G-overnor, whose head- 
quarters were at San Antonio. In 1725, Melchior de 
Madiavilia y Arcona, was governor ; 1731, Juan Antonio 
Bustillos y Cavallos ; 1734, Manuel de Sandoval ; 1736, 
Carlos de Franquis ; 1738, Prudencia de Oribio de Bas- 
terra ; 1740, Justo Boneo ; 1756, Jacinto de Barrios y 
Jaurequi; 1762, Antonio de Martos y JS'avarrete; 
1770, Juan Maria, Baron de Riperda; 1778, Domingo 
Cabello ; Rafael Pacheco ; 1790, Manuel Munoz ; 1803, 
Juan Bautista el Guazabel ; 1806, Antonio Cordero ; 
1810, Manuel de Salcedo ; 1813, Christoval Dominguez ; 
1818, Antonio Martinez. 




THE OLD CONCEPCION MISSION, NEAR SAN ANTONIO. 



PART III. 
Colonization 



UNDER 



Mexican Domination, 



FROM 1820 TO 1834. 



CHAPTER I. 

MEXICO BECOMES A REPUBLIC — PLAN OF IGUALA — MEXICO GAINS AN INDISPUTA- 
BLE TITLE TO TEXAS, IN 1819 — COLONIZATION SCHEMES — KEENE — OWEN — MOSES 
AUSTIN OBTAINS A CONTRACT— DIES — STEPHEN F. AUSTIN SELECTS A LOCA- 
TION IN TEXAS FOR HIS COLONY— AUSTIN AIDED BY HAWKINS— SCHOONER 
LIVELY LOST — AUSTIN IN THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

WE do not propose to take our readers into the laby- 
rinths of Mexican politics, or even to record the 
oft-recurring revolutions of that unhappy country. But 
Texas was under Mexican domination, and of course was 
more or less affected by all the changes of government ; and 
this was the period in which Mexico threw off her depend- 
ence upon Spain and took her position among the indej^end- 
ent nations of the earth. Hidalgo was the first to unfurl 
the Republican banner in Mexico. This was in 1812 ; and 
though he failed, Morelos and others kept up the organiza- 
tion of a party, struggling for deliverance from the Spanish 
yoke. Spain herself was now j^assing through the trying 
ordeal of a change of dynasty, and the Republicans thought 
it a favorable moment to strike for Mexican independence. 
Fortunately, Agustin Iturbide, the ablest of the loyalist gen- 
erals, gave in his adhesion to the movement. At the sugges- 
tion of Iturbide, a conference was held with Guerrero and 
other Republican leaders at Iguala, a small town about sixty 
miles from Mexico, on the road to Acapulco. The result of 
this interview was " the Plan of Iguala," proclaimed Feb- 
ruary 24, 1821. This plan was somewhat modified after 
the arrival of O'Donohue, the newly-appointed Viceroy, 



148 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

but in fact, the Plan of Iguala terminated the Spanish 
dominion in Mexico. 

Another change favorable to the settlement of Texas had 
taken place. For more than a century the country had 
been in dispute, claimed by both France and Spain ; and 
after France sold Louisiana to the United States, that 
government had revived the claim of France. The United 
States also wanted Florida. The ministers plenipotentiary 
of the countries met. Spain was represented by De Onis, 
and the United States by John Quincy Adams. A treaty 
w^as entered into February 22, 1819, by which Spain sold 
Florida to the United States, and the latter relinquished 
all claim to Texas. 

When the United States achieved her independence, she 
proffered a home to immigrants from all parts of the world. 
Her unexampled prosperity had its influence upon her 
southern neighbors. Even before the independence of 
Mexico, her rulers began to entertain projects for the colon- 
ization of unsettled portions of the country. To Edmund 
Keene, the English statesman, was given the right to settle 
with colonists 21,000 square leagues of the best land in 
Texas. This project failed. The next to apply for a colo- 
niEation grant was Robert Owen, the Socialist and Com- 
munist, who wished, in this wilderness, to test the practi- 
cability of his Socialistic system. But as none but 
Roman Catholics were tolerated in Spanish America, 
this application was, of course, unsuccessful ; and 'New 
Harmony, Indiana, witnessed the failure of Owen's exper- 
iment. 

The survivors of the ill-fated expeditions of Magee and 
Long had given glowing descriptions of Texas ; and the 
liberal disposition of the Mexican authorities made it a 
favorable time for planting colonies of Anglo-Americans in 
this inviting field. Moses Austin, a citizen of Missouri, 
who had moved into that country when it belonged to Spain, 
resolved to become the founder of a Texas colony. To 



PROJECTS FOR COLONIZATION. 149 

make the necessary preparations, he visited San Antonio, 
the capital of the province. He was at first coldly received 
by Governor Martinez, and even ordered to leave the 
j)rovince under pain of arrest. While crossing the plaza, 
after leaving the governor's office, Austin fortunately met 
Baron de Bastrop, with whom he had previously formed 
an acquaintance. Bastrop, who was one of the Alcaldes of 
the municipality, at once espoused the cause of Austin ; and 
through his influence, the governor was induced to give 
the colonial project his sanction. With the aid of De Bas- 
trop, Austin succeeded in getting the signatures of all the 
officials of the city to his application, which was forwarded 
to Arrendondo, the commander of the eastern internal 
provinces. Not doubting the success of his application, 
Austin returned to Missouri to make arrangements to 
introduce his colonists. He was much exposed, and suffered 
many hardships in his return journey ; he reached home in 
feeble health, and soon afterward died, leaving an injunc- 
tion for his son, Stephen Fuller Austin, to carry forward 
his plans. 

While the elder Austin was in Mexico, his son Stephen 
was in New Orleans, maturing plans for co-operation with 
his father in his Texas scheme. Arredondo readily gave 
his assent to the colonial project of Austin, and Messrs. 
Veramendi and Seguin, two prominent citizens of San 
Antonio, were appointed commissioners to meet Austin at 
Natchitoches, and introduce him into his future colony. 
Stephen Austin, having heard, at New Orleans, of the 
arrival of these commissioners in East Texas, started to 
meet them. On his way he heard of the death of his 
father, and that the whole enterprise now rested upon him- 
self. The commissioners had no hesitation in recognizing 
the authority of the younger Austin, who at once prepared 
to enter the province. It was late in the summer when, 
they reached San Antonio. Austin was cordially received 



150 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

by Grovernor Martinez, and his gentlemanly manners made 
a most favorable impression upon all the officers in the city. 
After inspecting the country, he selected for occupancy the 
rich lands of the Colorado and Brazos rivers, and returned 
to Louisiana to bring in his first colonists. On reaching 
JSTew Orleans he secured some pecuniary assistance from 
Joseph H. Hawkins, Esq., a former schoolmate at Transyl- 
vania University. The schooner Lively was purchased, 
and laden with supplies for the Texas colony. She sailed 
from New Orleans, for the mouth of the Colorado River, 
November 20th, 1821, and was never heard of afterward. 

On the day the Lively sailed from New Orleans, Austin 
started by land for Texas. At Nacogdoches he was joined 
by ten companions, and the party reached the bank of the 
Brazos December 31st. The next morning they crossed 
over, and named the stream found on the west side 
of the river, New Year's Creek. As Austin passed 
through Nacogdoches, he left some blank permits for colon- 
ists, and an agent to fill up the blanks. There were some 
conditions in "this first contract not incorporated in the 
subsequent laws. The colonists must profess the Roman 
Catholic faith ; must be citizens of Louisiana; must take an 
oath of allegiance to Ferdinand VII, and pledge themselves 
to protect and defend the institutions of the Spanish mon- 
archy ; and must bring certificates of good moral character. 
The printed form before us was granted to the Grates family, 
and is the property of the venerable Amos Gates, of 
Washington county. It bears date Nacogdoches, December 
27, 1821, and was signed by Austin " as civil and military 
commander of the colony forming on the Brazos and 
Colorado rivers, in the province of Texas, under the 
government of New Spain." In this permit it is stated that 
each man shall receive 640 acres of land ; his wife 320 ; and 
€ach child 160 acres. To the master was given eighty acres 
for each slave introduced. Austin was to incur all the 



PERILOUS JOURNEY. ' 151 

expense of procuring a patent, and the colonists were to pay 
him twelve and a half cents an acre for their land.* 

Austin hastened to the coast to meet the Lively. For 
three months he waited and watched, but hearing no tidings 
of 'the vessel, he finally gave it up for lost, and with his 
brother, John Brown Austin, he went to San Antonio. 
There he learned that it would be necessary for him to visit 
the city of Mexico, to secure the sanction of the newly inaug- 
urated Republican Grovernment. Though he had made no 
preparation for such a trip, he committed the management 
of his colony to Josiah H. Bell, and started upon the long 
and perilous journey. 



* This pay for land refers only to the first colonists. Under subsequent 
contracts the colonists themselves paid the Government dues, and the empres- 
ario received his pay in premium lands. It was a section of land — 640 acres, 
that Austin petitioned for, for each family. The commandant misunderstood 
him, thinking he wished a sitio, an amount equal to a small county. He told 
Austin that that was too much; but he would give each one a league, and the 
impresario of course agreed to that proposition, as it was so much better than 
he had asked ; but after all it was hard on the colonists. They could have paid 
twelve and a half cents an acre for a section of land, bi;t when it came to pay- 
ing that price for a league, it was more money than a poor man could readily 
commaud. 



CHAPTER II. 

COLONIZATION LAWS-LAW OP 1823-OF 1824-OP COAHUILA IN 1825, AN© AflAHf IN 
1832— SAN FELIPE LAID OUT AND LAND OFFICE OPENED IN 1824— EDWARDS" GRAN> 
AND FREDONIAN TROUBLES AT NACOGDOCHES-THE EDWARDS CONTRACT AN. 
NULLED BY GOA'^ERNOR BLANCO. 

C(UCH was the unsettled state of Mexican affairs that it 
}^ became necessary for Austin to remain for a whole year 
at the capital, before a government sufficiently stable was 
formed for him to effect the object of his mission. In the 
meantime, he had thoroughly studied the language and 
institutions of the country, and formed the acquaintance of 
its leading citizens. He had given special attention to the 
subject of colonization ; and it is believed the laws enacted 
at that and subsequent periods on the subject, were drawn 
at his suggestion. As these colonization laws are of great 
interest, we give a synopsis of the more important ones. * 

1. The Colonization Law of 1823, by the Mexican Empire. 
This guaranteed the protection of liberty, property, and civil rights to 
all foreigners professing the Roman Catholic apostolic religion. It prom- 
ised the distribution of the lands to them, recognizing the general right of 
any one to contract with the government for the introduction and settle- 
ment in the country of at least two hundred families. These contractors 
were called empresarios, and for the introduction and establishment of each 
two hundred families the empresario was entitled to receive from the gov- 
ernment a title to three haciendas and two labors of land; but he was 
obligated to populate and cultivate them within twelve years from the date 
of concession, under pain of losing all rights of property therein. The 
premium was never to exceed nine haciendas and six labors, and the pro- 
prietor was, at the end of twenty years, to alienate two-thirds of the land 
so acquired. The colonists themselves so introduced were entitled to— if 

*This sjTiopsis wae prepared for the Texas Almanac of 186S, by N. C. 
Raymond. 




CATHEDRAL DE SAN FERNANDO. 



COLONIZATION LAWS. 155 

their occupation was that of farming — not less than one labor (177 7-10 
acres ;) if engaged in the pursuit of stock-raising, not less than one silio 
(league, 4,488 English acres) of land. This quantity, however, might be 
augmented by the government itself, or by its authorities, if specially 
authorized/'agreeably to the conditions and circumstances of the colonists." 
There were a number of other provisions in the law by which the terms 
and conditions were liable to be varied, both as to the conti'actor and the 
colonist. 

2. The National Colonization Law of 1824. 

This law made it the duty of the legislatux'es of the several Mexican 
States to form colonization laws, or regulations for their respective States, 
subject, however, to the paramount authority, the constitutional act, general 
constitution, and the regulations established by the act under consideration. 
By this law was forbidden the colonization of any lands within twenty 
leagues of the limits of any foreign nation, or within ten leagues of the 
coasts, without the j^^'^vious approbation of the general government. The 
general Congress was estopped until the year 1840 from prohibiting the 
entrance of any foreigner as a colonist, "unless imperious circumstances 
should require it, with respect to the individuals of a particular nation." 
Mexican citizens as emj^resarios were preferred in the distribution of lauds. 
We insert Article 12 in full: 

*' It shall not be pei*mitted to unite in the same hands with the right of 
property more than one league square of land suitable for irrigation, four 
square leagues in superficies of arable land without the facilities of irri- 
gation, and six square leagues in superficies of grazing land." 

Here is the origin of what are commonly knowii in Texas as the eleven 
league claims. 

This law "guarantees the contracts whtch the empresarios make with 
the families which they bring at their own expense, provided they are not 
contrary to the laws." In accordance with this law and the subsequent 
laws passed under its authority, the territories of Mexico, — Texas being 
then an Integral j)art — were colonized. 

3. The Colonization Law of Coahuila ajd Texas of 1825. 

We introduce the preamble of this law in order to show more fully the 
animus of its enactment' 

" Decree No. 16. The Constituent Congress of the free, independent and 
sovereign State of Coahuila and Texas, desiring by every possible means 
to augment the population of its territory, promote the cultivation of its 
fertile lands, the raising and multiplication of stock, and the progress of 
the arts and connncrce ; and being governed by the constitutional act, 
the federal constitution, and the basis established by the national decree of 
the general Congress No. 72, (the national colonization law of 1824,) have 
thought proper to deci'ee the following law of colonization." 

This law invited all foreigners who had come to any of the Mexican 
territories under the law of 1824, to settle in Coahuila and Texas, and pre- 
scribed the manner in which thoy, or those then within the State, should 
avail themselves of the opportunity presented of acquiring laud under the 
11 



156 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

law. The empresario conti*acts authorized by the national decree No. 72 
were recognized as well as its other provisions ; the inchoate rights accruing 
under it being more particularly regulated by immaterial conditions and 
prescriptions of fcrm in their perfection. The settlers were required as an 
acknowledgment to " pay to the State for each sitio of pasture land thirty 
dollars, two dollars and a half for each labor without the facility of irriga- 
tion, and three dollars and a half for each one that can be irrigated, and so 
on proportionably, according to the quantity and quality of the land dis- 
tributed." Here is the origin of the payment of what is commonly known 
as " government dues," which is still required by the State of Texas upon a 
certain class of land certificates. 

We introduce articles 45 and 46 o*' this law by way of incidental infor- 
mation upon two other subjects : 

Art. 45. The government, in accord with the respective ordinary eccle- 
siastics, will take care to provide the new settlements with the competent 
number of pastors, and, in accord with the same authority, shall propose 
to the Legislature for its approbation the salary which the said pastors are 
to receive, which shall be i:)aid by the new settlers. 

Art. 46. The new settlers, as regards the introduction of slaves, shall 
subject themselves to the existing laws and those which may hereafter be 
established on the subject." 

Instructions were issued in 1827 by the executive department of the 
State of Coahuila and Texas, to the commissioners for the partition of lands 
among the colonists who had established, or who might establish themselves 
under this law. These instructions were merely directory as to the duty of 
the commissioners in their official capacity.* 

4. The Colonization Law of 1832, passed by the Congress of Coa- 
huila AND 'Texas, which Repealed the Law of 1825. 

This law, without changing the policy which seems to have controlled 
the government in the acquisition of population through her schemes of 
colonization, prescribed more definitely than any previous law the manner 



* To the above we will add, that in the instructions to land commissioners, 
they were required to lay out towns on four league tracts, with water and 
timber to which all the population had access and an equal right — streets to be 
broad— to cross each other at right angles — and suitable plazas were designated, 
to be forever set apart to the public use for court-houses, churches, schools, etc. 
All mines, salt lakes, etc., were reserved from location, and were to be access- 
ible to the public luider certain restrictions. The wisdom of this is seen in tlie 
result of permitting the salt mines in El Paso County to become private prop- 
ert>'. Again, no one man could acquire a title to more than eleven leagues of 
jand, and before the expiration of twenty yeax's must alienate two-thirds of it. 
We have no restriction now, and as a result we read of cattle kings and qneeiis. 
fencing in royal domains. As an illustration : Forty-seven persons owiytwo- 
thirds of the land of Xneces County. "W. K(^nnedy owns 186. 2SG acres,' valued 
for taxation at §94,943; and Richard King owns 188,435, assessed at $130,127. 



INDUCEMENTS TO IMMIGRANTS. 157 

■of final consummation of rights to land in Texas, though the quantity 
o-ranted by it to the colonists was neither increased nor diminished, with 
the exception of the quantity to single men, who became entitled by its 
provisions to one-fourth of a league, (1,107 acres). There was no limitation 
as to the colonists. They might be introduced from any country, though 
the object seems to have been to settle Texas with Americans. 

The sale of lands to 3fexicans was authorized in quantities not to exceed 
eleven leagues, upon certain conditions, to-wit: The introduction of stock, 
the payment of part of the valuation into the treasury, etc., etc. The price 
varied from fifteen dollars to two hundred dollars per league. 

All rights to land in Texas previous to the declaration of her independ- 
ence in March, 1836, were therefore acquired under the authority of these 
statutory enactments, or by virtue of the authority of the Spanish Govern- 
ment before the independence of Mexico, or by authority of the Mexican 
Government afterward, each exercising the right of eminent domain. 

As an inducement to immigrants, a provision was inserted 
in the law, exempting all colonists from taxes, tithes, etc., 
for six years. In Austin's jDermit, as we have seen, 
masters were encouraged to bring their slaves ; but in acts 
of subsequent legislation slavery was discouraged, the sale 
of slaves prohibited in the province, and all children of 
.slave parents declared free at fourteen years of age. 

Notwithstanding Austin's long absence from Texas, his 
colony continue^:! to fill up, though there were some fears 
that he would fail with the new government. As a prelim- 
iniiry measure, Austin had opened a farm on Red river, 
w^here a large amount of provisions were raised for his 
colonists on their way to the Brazos. A good many who 
had started for the colony, stopj)ed on Red river until they 
should learn the result of his mission to the city of Mexico. 
When that was announced, these families hurried forward. 
His first contract for three hundred w^as soon filled. Finally 
Austin succeeded in placing the colonization laws in such 
a shape that he could safely return to his colony. 

On his way back he, at Monterey, met a most flattering 
reception from General Le Garcia, commander of the 
eastern internal provinces. Le Garcia directed him to lay 
out a town for the residence of the public officials, and to 
call it San Felipe de Austin. What was still more import- 



158 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ant for the interests of the rising colony, Baron de Bastrop 
was appointed commissioner to issue titles to the immi- 
grants. The town was laid out and the land office opened 
in July, 1824. Owing to the rambling disj)osition of the 
colonists, they had scattered from the San Jacinto on the 
east, to the JNTavidad on the west, and from the gulf coast 
up to the old San Antonio and Nacogdoches road. Ferries 
had been established at the principal crossings of the 
rivers, farms opened, stores accumulated, and the colonists 
were becoming comfortably fixed to live. 

Edwards' Grant. — In Mexico Austin met a number of 
gentlemen seeking empresario contracts ; and among them 
General James Wilkinson and Hayden Edwards. Owing 
to jDrevious transactions wath the Spanish authorities, they 
were a little reluctant to grant the request of the former 
commander on the Sabine, but Mr. Edwards was a man of 
culture and wealth, and readily obtained his request. His 
grant was under the general colonization law, which Austin 
had succeeded in getting through Congress. Edwards^ 
contract was for eight hundred families, to be settled in 
the neighborhood of Nacogdoches. It bore date Aj^ril 18, 
1825. The location proved exceedingl}^ unfortunate. 
Nacogdoches had been settled a long time by a roving and 
migratory class of people, some of whom had obtained an 
unenviable notoriety as " heroes " of the neutral ground. 
There, too, a prejudice had grown up between the Anglo- 
American and Mexican citizens. When the families 
introduced by Edwards selected their headright land and 
commenced improving, some older claimant would appear 
and lay claim to his home. The courts were ajipealed to, 
but the Alcaldes had been elected by Mexican voters, and 
invariably decided in favor of their constituents. Indeed, 
the first serious ditficulty grew out of an election for 
Alcalde. Chaplin, the son-in-law of Edwards, received 
the largest number of votes, but Xorris, the candidate voted 
for by the Mexicans, was counted in. Some Mexicans of 



Edward's grant. 159 

very disreputable character, were engaged in forging old 
land titles. Of this Edwards complained to the political 
chief, Saucedo, but he obtained no satisfaction. We give 
an instance from Yoakum : " Before Edwards had made 
his contract, a man by the name of Tramel had emigrated 
from Pecan Point to ]S"acogdoches. After he had reached 
the latter place, he learned from the Alcalde that that 
functionary had received orders from Governor Trespela- 
cios to place some one at the crossing of the Trinity to keep 
a ferry on the old San Antonio road. Tramel agreed to 
occupy the post, and with the order of the Alcalde, removed 
to the ferry and settled himself. He subsequently sold out 
to another person, who still kept up the ferry. Ignatius 
Sertuche, a Mexican, and the only surviving inhabitant of 
the old town of Spanish Bluff, below the old ferry, was 
starving, together with his family. The occupant of the 
ferry invited him to move up to the crossing, and he would 
supply his family with food. Sertuche, finding the situa- 
tion pleasant and profitable, managed to dispossess the 
occupant. The facts being made known to Edwards, he 
took steps to repossess the true occupant. This was all 
repeated to the political chief, and Sertuche was again 
placed at the ferry. The only reason given by Saucedo for 
this arbitrary act w^as, that Sertuche was a Mexican, and 
entitled to the preference." Yoakum adds: " In several 
other instances, these invidious distinctions were made, and 
Americans who had come into the country and wrought 
improvements, were compelled to give place to Mexican 
favorites of Sepulvida and JN'orris, the Alcaldes during the 
years 1825-26." " The Americans," says Foote, who was 
an intimate friend of Edwards, "were dispossessed of 
their homes, fined and imprisoned." 

During the summer of 1826, Hayden Edwards visited 
the United States to bring on more colonists. In his 
absence his brother, Benj. F. Edwards, had charge of the 
colony. Learning that serious charges had been forwarded 



160 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

to Governor Blanco, aifecting his brother, Benjamiiv 
Edwards wrote to the Governor, denouncing the charges i^v 
j^retty severe terms. In answer to this epistle, Blanco, o?v 
the 20th of October, sent a reply of which the following is 
a translation of the concluding paragraph : "In view o\' 
such proceedings, by which the conduct of Hayden Edwards 
is well attested, / /lave decreed the annidment of his contracty 
and his expidsion from the territory of the Republic, in 
discharge of the supreme orders with which I am invested. 
He has lost the confidence of the Government, which is- 
suspicious of his fidelity ; besides it is not prudent to admit, 
those who begin by dictating law^s as sovereigns. If to you 
or your constituent, these measures are unwelcome nd 
prejudicial, you can apply to the Suj)reme Government;, 
but you will first evacuate the country, both yourself and 
Havden Edwards ; for which j^urj^ose I this day repeat my 
orders to that dei^artment — in the execution of which, as 
they w^ill expel all evil-doers, so they will extend full protec- 
tion to those of worth, probity and useful skill, that have 
settled therein, and are submissive to the laws and consti 
tuted authorities." This is signed Blanco, and certified by 
Juan Antonio Padilla, Secretary of State. 

When this executive decree reached Nacogdoches,, 
Havden Edwards had returned. He had expended several 
thousand dollars in bringing colonists to the country, and 
of course felt chagrined at this arbitrary and illegal 
proceeding. Some of his colonists, too, had expended 
considerable sums in rendering their homes comfortable 
And notwithstanding the statement in the decree, that 
citizens would be protected in their rights, the old Mexicans 
trumped up claims to all the improved lands ; and Norris, 
the Alcalde, issued orders to put them in possession, while 
James Gaines, his father-in-law, had organized a company 
of re<^'ulators to enforce their fraudulent claims. 

The Indians also, who had settled in the neighborhood,, 
under the provisions of the colonization law, were dissatis- 



THE FREDONIANS. 161 

iied, as no provision had been made to give them titles to 
their hind. The most influential chiefs of these tribes 
were Richard Fields and John Dunn Hunter, both half- 
breeds. Under the excitement of the moment, the Edwards 
party entered into a league with the dissatisfied Indians, 
forming an alliance offensive and defensive. They first 
declared their independence of the United Mexican Nation, 
and next divided the territory of Texas between them, giving 
the Indians in the country, and to enter the territory, all 
the country north of a point a little above Nacogdoches, 
and westward to the Rio Grande; and the whites, the 
coast of Texas. Slavery was to be established in both. 
This was duly signed on the 20th of December. The follow- 
ing names were appended to this declaration : Hayden 
Edwards and Harmon B. Mayo, on the part of the Amer- 
icans, and Richard Fields and John Dunn Hunter, on the 
part of the Indians. The allied parties assumed the name 
of Fredonians^ and proceeded at once to organize a legisla- 
tive committee, composed of the following members: 
Americans — Martin Parmer, President ; Hayden Edwards, 
F. B. Ligon, John Sprow, B. F. Thompson, Joseph A. 
Huber, B. W. Edwards and H. B. Mayo. Indians — 
Richard Fields, John Dunn Hunter, Ne-Ko-Lake, John 
Bags and Kurtoke. Learning that Col. Bean, the Mexican 
Indian agent, at Fort Teran, was preparing to resist their 
movements, the Fredonians took posession of the old stone 
house at JSTacogdoches. Bean, however, awaited the arrival 
of reinforcements from San Antonio. One of the first acts 
of the legislative body was to depose the Alcalde Norris. 
Norris hastily collected a few friends, and on the 4th of 
January, 1827, entered the town and took a position behind 
some other buildings. Here they were attacked by about 
twenty Americans and Indians from the fort, and driven 
off, with a loss of one killed and several wounded After 
this action, B. W. Edwards was elected commander of the 
Fredonians. 



162 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The Fredonians had miscalculated the spirit of Austin's 
colonists. They exj^ected, from them, a hearty co-operation. 
In this, they were sadly disappointed. Again, they had 
been deceived as to the feelings among the Indians. 
True, Fields and Hunter were faithful to their treaty, but 
Bean had detached the great body of the tribe from the 
alliance, and the result was, that both the faithful half- 
breeds were assassinated by the Indians whose welfare they 
were laboring to promote. When news of the organization 
of the Edwards party reached Bexar, Saucedo dispatched 
Colonel Mateo Ahumada with 200 soldiers, to suppress the 
insurrectionists. At San Felipe he was reinforced by a 
company of Austin's colonists. Seeing the hopelessness of 
maintaining the Fredonian cause against such odds, Major 
Edwards and his party retired across the Sabine. 

Ahumada, on reaching Nacogdoches, took possession of 
the place, and captured a few of Edwards' partizans. It was 
fortunate for them, that Colonel Austin was along ; other- 
wise they would have shared the usual fate of prisoners, 
captured by the Mexican soldiers. As it was, they were at 
Austin's solicitation released. This clemency, so unexj^ected, 
brought to Ahumada a letter from B. W. Edwards, of which 
the following is an extract : " Your kind, your friendly and 
generous deportment towards my fi'iends and fellow soldiers, 
while prisoners of yours, entitles you and the officers under 
your command to the expression of my thanks, and has 
insured to you and them a distinction in our hearts, that 
will ever separate you from the rest of your countrymen 
who have oppressed us." (See sketches of Edwards, Fields, 
Hunter, etc.)* 




BOWEN'S BEND. SAN ANTONIO RIVER. 



CHAPTER III. 

OTHER CONTRACTS— THORN— LEFTWICH—DE WITT— DE LEON— AUSTIN'S SECOND CON- 
TRACT, AND OTHERS FROM 1825 TO 1830— SETTLKMENT ON RED RIVER— IN THE 
SOUTH-EAST— GALVESTON BAY COMPANY— IN THE SOUTH-WEST. 

/TV HE prosperity of Austin's colony, and the favorable 
-A. provisions of the general colonization law, induced a 
number of persons to apply for empresario grants. On the 
15th of April, 1824, three applications were filed for con- 
tracts. Frost Thorn proposed to introduce 400 families ; 
Robert Leftwich, 800 ; and Green DeWitt, 400. And on 
the 27th of April, S. F. Austin took an additional contract 
for the introduction of 500 families. October 6th, Martin 
DeLeon took a contract for forty-one families. 

In 1826 — January 12th, Benjamin R. Milam took a con- 
tract for 200 families ; March 9th, Arthur G. Wabell took 
a contract for 400 families ; May 27th, Stephen J. Wilson 
for 200 ; December 22d, Joseph Vehelin & Co., for 300 ; 
December 22d, David G. Burnet, for 300. 

1826 — November 14th, John L. Woodbury, for 200. 

1827— May 21st, John Cameron took a contract for 100 
families; and on the 20th of November, S. F. Austin added 
100 families to his j^revious contracts. 

1828. — February 9th, John Cameron took a second 
contract for 299 families ; February 23d, Exter & Wilson, 
for 100 families; November 17th, Joseph Vehelin & Co., 
for 100 additional families. 

1829— February 6th, John Dominguez, for 200 families ; 
March 12th, Lorenzo de Zavalla for 500 families ; and 
April 30th, Martin DeLeon for 150 additional. 



166 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

In 1830, Thomas J. Chambers and J. A. PadiHa took a 
contract, February 12th, for introducing 800 families. 

The granting of so many contracts proves conclusively 
that the legally constituted authorities were anxious to see 
Texas settled. The boundaries of these grants were not 
very accurately defined ; and some of the empresarios failed 
to even make an effort to introduce their quota of immi- 
grants. Austin, alone, succeeded in nearly filling all his 
contracts, introducing more families than all the other 
empresarios. His later contracts authorized him to settle a 
colony above the old San Antonio road, on the east side of 
the Colorado River ; and also on the littoral coast leagues^ 
that had been previously reserved from location. The 
Leftwich grant was also in the jurisdiction of the Brazo& 
department. Leftwich had brought out a few families, when 
he returned to Tennessee to make arrangements to complete 
his work, where he died. A company called the Xashville 
Company was organized, and Sterling C. Roberston and 
Alexander Thomson came out with some families to settle 
the colony. Robertson had difficulty with some of the 
Mexican officials at Nacogdoches, and in 1831, the authori- 
ties revoked the privileges of the Nashville Company, and 
the same territory was assigned to Austin & Williams. 
Mr. Robertson, visited Saltillo in 1834 and procured a 
renewal of his contract, and was successful in settling his 
colony. (See Robertson, S. C.) 

There were three contracts in the upper part of the juris- 
diction of Nacogdoches : Filisolas', Milam's and Wabell's. 
Milam, in conjunction with Wabell, introduced a number 
of families who became permanent settlers, on the south side 
of Red River. The Federal Congress had given him a 
headright league, which in consequence of his invaluable 
services to the Republican cause had been increased to 
eleven leagues. Milam located his land, and started a ranch, 
but unfortunately he went too far to the east, and when the 
boundary line was run, found his land in Miller county^ 



WALL STREET SPECULATION. 167 

Arkansas. He abandoned that location for one farther 
west. 

Higher up on Red River, and outside of any regular 
jurisdiction, were the grants of Cameron, Exter & Wilson 
and Woodbury. At an early period one of these English 
companies sent a party of surveyors across from Santa Fe,, 
to survey and sectionize the land preparatory to settlement. 
The party established an initial point on the Brazos River,, 
and started north, surveying and marking off the land on 
each side of their ba^e line. But the Indians were found 
hostile, and when the surveyors reached the Canadian River 
and the Wichita Mountains, they were finally driven off, and 
the colonists never came to occupy the land. 

The contracts of Burnet, Vehelin, and Zavalla, in the 
lower part of the municipality of Nacogdoches, passed into- 
the hands of some ]N"ew York capitalists, who, in the lan- 
guage of Burnet, converted it into a Wall-street speculation. 
It is possible the purchasers did not fully understand the 
privileges and restrictions of empresarios. At any rate 
they formed " the Galveston Bay Company," and issued 
scrip for 6,210,300 acres of land. The scrip was worthless 
in Texas, where every immigrant was entitled to a league 
of land ; but in N'ew York it sold for from one to two cents 
an acre. It is said this company expended $50,000 in 
preparations to settle their colony. They selected the town 
of Anahuac for their headquarters. When Bradburn 
become commander at Anahuac, and exercised his despotism, 
the population fled, and the bubble of the " Galveston Bay 
Company" exploded. 

Three of the grants were in the jurisdiction of Goliad : 
DeLeon's, Powers' and McMullin & McGloine's. ^^Ir. 
DeLeon was already in his colony, having established a 
ranch at Victoria, on the Guadalupe River. The colonists 
introduced by McMullin &MeGloine were mostly Irish, and 
settled on the Nueces River, forming the county of San 
Patricio. Powers introduced a few families on the bay of 
Copano. 



168 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

DeWitt's colony was in the Bexar jurisdiction. This 
grant was on the Gruadalupe River, and formed the nucleus 
of DeWitt and Gonzales counties. 

Milam's second grant was on the San Marcos River. 
Beale was interested with him, and the contract was sold to 
the Baring Brothers of London. 

The accompanying map will give a tolerably accurate 
idea of the location of the different colonies, the old thor- 
oughfares, the location of different towns, rivers, etc., and 
the three departments into which Texas was divided in 
1834. 

Beside these colonies in the province of Texas, of which 
the Nueces was then the western boundary, in 1833-4, an 
English colony was attempted on a creek named Las 
Moras, and a village laid out, ominously named Dolores. 
The English immigrants, unused to a frontier life, did not 
long remain in the dolorous settlement. 



I 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

lO 

1 1 

12 

13 



Empresario Grants, 
Felisola's Grant. 
Burnet's ' ' 
Vehlin's " 
Zavalla's ' * 
Austin's Colony. 
Robertson's Grant. 
S. F, Austin's ' ' 
Milam's " 

DeWitt ' ' 

DeLeon's ' ' 

Bexar District 

McMullin & McGloire's Grant 
Power's ' ' 




Pecan Pt. 




CHAPTER IV. 

CIVIL ADMINISTRATION — GOVERNORS — LAND COMMISSIONERS — ALCALDES' DISTRICTS 
— AYUNTAMIENTOS— POLITICAL CHIEFS OF DKPARTMENTS— STATE CONGRESS- 
REFLECTIONS ON COLONIZATION — ALMONTE IN THE PROVINCE — HIS REPflRT — 
DISTURBING ELEMENTS — TAXATION — SLAVERY — TEXAS COVETED BY THE UNITED 
STATES. 

ftAyIXG- given a list of the colonial grants, and brief 
notes of the progress of settlements, we will now turn 
our attention to the civil administration of the country. 
Under Mexican rule the government was personal. The 
Governor was appointed by, and responsible to, the federal 
executive ; still subordinate, however, to the military 
commander at Monterey. The following is a list of the 
Governors of the province : In 1822, Trespelacios ; 1823, 
Luciana Le Garcia. Up to this time Texas was a province 
by itself, and the Governor resided at San Antonio. By 
the Constitution of 1824, Texas was temporarily attached 
to Coahuila, and Saltillo became the capital. In 1825, 
Rafael Gonzales was Governor ; 1826, Victor Blanco ; 1828, 
Jose Maria Viesca ; 1831, Jose Maria Letona ; 1834, 
Francisco Vidauri y Villasenor. The military command- 
ers at Monterey were, in 1820, Anastasio Bustamente ; in 
1822, Phillip Le Garcia ; 1830, Mier y Teran. 

In Austin's colony, the people enjoyed all their rights 
and privileges for a number of years, without molestation. 
For six years they were exempt from taxation ; the govern- 
ment gave them a liberal grant of land, and those dissatis- 
fied with their first locations were permitted to changed 
Austin exercised the functions of civil and militar}'- ruler, 
and up to 1828, those of Superior Judge. Samuel M. 



170 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Williams, the secretary of the colony, and the various 
surveyors and the land commissioners aiforded to the 
colonists every facility for locating and securing titles to 
their land. 

Under the general colonization law, the land commis- 
sioner was an important functionary. He not only issued 
land titles, but established ferries, organized new Alcaldes' 
districts, and inducted the new officers ; laid out towns, 
and in conjunction with the empresario, exercised a general 
suj^er vision over the colonies. * 

Under Spanish rule, San Antonio, Nacogdoches and 
Goliad had enjoyed the rank of " Presidios," or county 
seats. In 1822, during Austin's absence in Mexico, two 
Alcaldes' districts, those of the Brazos and the Colorado, 
were formed in his colony. These had increased to seven 
in 1827. In 1828 all the Alcaldes in a municipality met 
three times a year and held a general court, called an Ayun- 
tamiento. 

Texas, from its great distance from Saltillo, was practically 
without a governor ; and on the first of February, 1826, the 
office of political chief was created and Manuel de Saucedo 
appointed to the office. The chief received a salary of ^800 
a 3'ear ; and was invested with both civil and military 
power. He could, at will, suspend the functions of civil 
officers ; arrest persons suspected of treasonable designs ; 
and call out and command the militia. Saucedo was suc- 
ceeded by Ramon Musquis. In 1834, two " Departments " 



* The following were the principal Land Commissioners in the colonies : In 
Austin's colony in 1824, Baron de Bastrop ; 1828. Gasper Flores at Nacogdoches 
in 1829, Juan Antonio Padilla, and in 1832, Francisco Maderio.,;At a later peri- 
od, George W. Smyth. Before any connnissioner was appointed, the Alcaldes 
issued titles that the courts duly recognized ; and at a later period the Alcaldes 
atljbertygranted titles. Ferdinand De Leon was commissioner for De Leon's 
colony ; Jose Antonio Navarro for Bexar district, and for Milam's colony on 
the San Marcos Kiver; Jesus Vidauri for Power & Hewitson's colony ; Charles 
S. Taylor for Zavalla and Vehelin's colony; George A. Nixon, for Burnet's, 
and W^illiam H. Steele, for Robertson's colony. In Austin's later contracts, he 
was empowered to issue titles in the absence of a commissiouer. 



LAND COMMISSIONEES. 171 

were formed, Bexar and ^N'acogdoches ; the line separating 
them was the dividing ridge between the San Jacinto and 
Trinity rivers. John ^^. Seguin was chief at Bexar, and 
Henry Ruiz at Nacogdoches. The next year the department 
of the Brazos was formed, and Henry Smit*h and James B. 
Miller were each for a time, political chiefs, at San Felipe. 

When three departments were formed, a law was enacted 
providing for a Supreme Court, and for a District Court in 
each department. Thomas J. Chambers was appointed 
judge of the former, but never organized his court. David 
G.Burnet, judge of the Brazos district, was the only one 
who ever held a court. 

During this period ^he law-making power was lodged in 
a representative body called the Congress of Coahuila and 
Texas. The members were not elected directly by the 
people, but by electors chosen for that purpose. Popular 
elections were always held on Sunday. To be eligible to a 
seat in Congress, the candidate, if not a native, must have 
resided eight years in the country ; and must have an 
income of $1,000, or be worth $8,000. 

By her population, Texas ought to have had four dele- 
gates in this body ; but the law gave her but two, and it is 
questionable if she ever had more than one member at a 
time. The action of Congress was frequently inimical to 
Texas, especially one of its last acts, a fraudulent sale of 
about four hundred leagues of Texas land. * 

Reflections on Texas Colonization. — The history of 
frontier expansion in the United States show^s that it is no 
easy task. In Texas the difficulties were very great. It 
was remote from other settlements — in a foreio-n countrv. 
with a government and institutions entirely different from 
those of the North ; and the country was pre-occupied by 
Indians. Considering all these circumstances, the success 

* The following were Texas members of this Congress : Baron De Bastroj). 
Jose Antonio Navarro, Erasmo Seguin, Stephen F. Austin, James B. Miller, 
Oliver Jones, and Jose Antonio Vasques. 



172 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of Austin and others in introducing Anglo-American colon- 
ists, was wonderful. If we inquire into the grounds of 
this success, we shall find it in the character of the men. 
They were brave, hardy, industrious men, self-helpful and 
self-reliant. They asked no favors of the government, and 
that government let them severely alone. Their stout arms 
cultivated their farms and protected their homes from the 
incursions of the savages. Volumes might be written, 
detailing instances of individual bravery — of hardshijDS 
cheerfully endured by old and young, male and female 
colonists. 

In 1834, Santa Anna sent his trusted lieutenant, 
Almonte, to examine Texas and report upon its progress. 
This report furnishes the most reliatle data we have of the 
wealth and population at that time. Kennedy says of this 
report : 

''The statistics of Almonte form the proudest testimonial to the labors 
of those feai'less and persevering- spirits who first rendered the golden-- 
glebe of Texas tributary to the enjoyments of civilized man." 

We give some extracts from Almonte's report : 

"In 1806 the department of Bexar contained two municipalities; San 
Antonio, with a population of 5,000 souls, and Goliad with 1,400 — total 6,400. 
In 1834 there were four municipalities, with the following population 
respectively : — San Antonio, 2,400 ; Goliad, 700 ; Victoria, 300 ; San Patricio, 
600 — total 4,000. Deducting 600 for the municipality of San Patricio, an 
Irish settlement, the Mexican population had declined from 6,400 to 3,400 
between 1806 and 1834. The department of the Brazos, (Austin's and De- 
Witt's colonies) have the following municipalities: San Felipe, 2.500; 
Columbia, 2,100; Matagorda, 1,400; Gonzales, 900; Mina, 1,100— total 
8,000; 1,000 of whom are negroes." 

Let the reader observe that while the Mexican popula- 
tion of Bexar district had fallen off nearly one-half, the 
Anglo-American population had grown from nothing in 
1820, to 7,000, exclusive of the negroes. 

" The department of Nacogdoches contains four municipalities and four 
towns. Nacogdoches has a population of 3,500; San Augustine, 2,500; 
Liberty, 1,000; Jonesburg. 2,000; the town of Anahuac, 50 ; Bevil, 140; 
Terau 10; Tenaha, 100— total 9,000, of whom 1,000 are negroes." 




SANTA ANNA. 



DISTUKBING ELEMENTS. 175 

Afmonte estimates that the department of the Brazos had 
25,000, and that of Nacogdoches 50,000 head of cattle. The 
amount of the whole trade of Texas for the year 1834, he 
estimates as follows : 

DEPARTMEKTS. IMPORTS. EXPORTS. TOTAL. 

Bexar 40,000 20,000 60,000 

Brazos 325,(i00 275,000 600,000 

Nacogdoches 265.000 205,000 470,000 

Contraband trade by water.. 270,000 1,400,000 

Mr. Almonte estimated the whole population in 1834, at 
36,300 ; of whom 21,000 were civilized and 15,300 Indians. 
Of the latter, 10,800 were represented as hostile and 4,500 
friendly. Mr. Kennedy suggests that Almonte's estimate 
was too low, and that the Anglo-American population at 
that time amounted to 30,000, exclusive of the negroes. 

DisTUKBiNG Elements.— One of the most difficult ques- 
tions to adjust between the government and its people is 
that of Taxation ; how the government is to be sustained 
with the least pressure upon the pockets of the people. 
Colonists entering Texas were permitted to introduce all 
family supplies, and agricultural and mechanical imple- 
ments free of duty, and for six years no taxes were to be 
paid. From the foundation of Austin's colony, up to 
1830-31, Texas had been free from custom houses and tax 
collectors. This exemption of so large a portion of the 
State impoverished the treasury at Saltillo so that many 
offices remained vacant because there was no money to pay 
the salaries. Every available resource was resorted to to 
increase the revenue ; even the cock-pits were taxed for the 
support of the government. The Texans enjoyed their 
exemption and appreciated it. It is, perhaps, due to truth, 
to state that they were not anxious to see assessors and 
collectors of taxes. In 1828, Mr. Austin had advised the 
Ayuntamiento of San Felipe to assess a tax to build a jail ; 
but that body had refrained from exercising such an unwel- 
come authority. The period when many of the colonists 



rj 



176 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

were by law exempt from taxation had now expirect, and 
in 1830 the government took steps to collect taxes. This 
was not unreasonable, and the people would not have 
objected but for the means adopted to enforce the collec- 
tion. With the revenue officers came armed bands of 
soldiers, under officers clothed with dictatorial powers — 
powers which the liberty-loving Anglo-Americans dis- 
trusted. To collect reasonable, legitimate taxes, such 
troops were unnecessar3^ 

The subject of negro slavery furnished another irritating 
question. In his first contract, Austin was authorized to 
introduce slaves, and even to give their masters an addi- 
tional tract of land for each one so introduced. This, 
however, was contrary to the general j^olicy of Mexico, and 
the Constitution of Coahuila and Texas, promulgated March 
11th, 1827, abolished slavery in the State. Through the 
influence of Austin, this was so far modified in its applica- 
tion to his colonists, that negroes were still introduced, 
under the name of Peons; the most of them having been 
passed through the custom-house at Xew Orleans, so 
that their masters, if they found it necessary to do so, 
could re- convey them to the United States. Almonte, 
who says these negroes were introduced under special 
arrangements, [Convenios particulares) estimates that 
in 1834 there were 2,000 in the province. There 
were probably twice that number. When Guerrero, in 
1829, was invested with absolute }X)wer, he abolished 
slavery. The next year. President Bustemente prohibited 
the further introduction of slaves. These decrees did not 
set the negroes free, or arrest their introduction into the 
colony. Indeed, a few African negroes had been smuggled 
in. This induced the Convention of 1833 to pass a resolu- 
tion stron2:iy denouncino- the African slave trade. ^lany 
of Austin's colonists were from the Southern States of the 
American Union, and the more wealthy had brought their 
house servants and agricultural laborers with them ; and 



FUTILE ATTEMPTS TO PURCHASE. 177 

they were exceedingly jealous of any interference with their 
domestic institutions. 

These irritating questions were not all on one side. The 
steps taken by the Fredonians at Nacogdoches had excited 
the suspicions of the Mexicans. Though they reposed 
unbounded confidence in Austin, they distrusted some of 
his colonists ; especially those who called and controlled 
public meetings, in which the measures of the government 
were freely commented on. 

Again, the United States had manifested an undue solic- 
itude to gain possession of our fair province. Although 
the treaty negotiated by John Quincy Adams and De Onis, 
in 1819, had conceded Texas to Spain, when Mr. Adams 
became President, in March, 1825, one of the first acts of 
his administration was, through Mr. Clay, Secretary of 
State, to instruct the American Minister in Mexico to pro- 
cure the re-transfer of Texas to the United States. Two 
years later this proposition was repeated, when Mr. Poin- 
sett was authorized to offer a million of dollars for the 
country as far as the Rio Grande, or a half million for that 
east of the Colorado river. These offers were rejected, and 
after General Jackson became President, Mr. Van Buren, 
Secretary of State, renewed them ; this time proffering four 
millions of dollars for the territory east of the dividing 
line between the waters of the Rio Grande and the Nueces. 
If that could not be obtained, a proportionate sum was to 
be offered for the territory east of the Lavaca, or Colorado, 
or the Brazos rivers. None of these offiers were for a 
moment entertained by the Mexican government. As 
most of the colonists in Texas were from the United States, 
the Mexicans were suspicious that they wished to return 
to their allegiance to that government, even if it required 
the transfer of the country which they had settled. 



CHAPTER y. 



bustembnte's famous decree— custom houses— garrisons established — 
bradburn's arbitrary proceedings at anahuac — the texans pronounce 
for santa anna and the constitution of 1824 — fight at velasco — at nacog- 
doches— peace prospects in 1832. 



IT was evidently the intention of Bustemente to thor- 
oughly Mexicanize the population of Texas. On the 6th 
of April, 1830, he issued a decree prohibiting any further 
immigration into Texas from the United States. This was 
followed by another, and still more odious one, directing that 
Mexican co?ivicts should be transported to Texas, thus 
virtually converting the province into a penal colony. Teran, 
an uncompromising centralist, was appointed commander of 
the eastern internal provinces. Custom houses were to be 
established at San Antonio, Nacogdoches, Copano, Velasco 
and Anahuac, at the head of Galveston Bay. 

To effect the complete subjugation of the colonists, about 
a thousand soldiers were sent to the province, and distributed 
at such points as their services might be needed. These 
soldiers were many of them discharged convicts, and 
enlisted vagabonds, and were to be supported by the money 
collected from customs, and by taxation. Their officers 
were of the same stripe with Bustemente and Teran, and 
were supposed to be willing to carry out the measures of 
their superiors. Piedras was the ranking officer, and had 
the largest force. He Avas at Nacogdoches, apparently, to 
prevent any further immigration from the United States ; 
and when Alexander Thomson arrived with a number of 
families for Robertson's colony, he interposed every obstacle 
in the way of the further progress of these families. Pie- 



AN INDIGNATION MEETING. 179 

dras had 320 men ; Bradburn, at Anahuac, 150 ; Ugarte- 
chea, at Velasco, 120 ; Bean a still smaller force at Fort 
Teran, on the Neches ; and there were companies at San 
Antonio and Goliad. Bradbnrn was the first to manifest a 
directly hostile spirit. His arbitrary acts are thus summar- 
ized in a pamphlet published in 1832, by T. J. Chambers : 
" He introduced martial law for the citizens ; he took from 
them their proj)erty without their consent and without 
consideration ; he had many of them arrested and impris- 
oned in the fort of Anahuac ; and his troops, who were 
guilty of robbery and stealing, were by him protected from 
punishment." To specify a little more minutely, his 
arbitrary acts : He, in 1831, arrested Madero, the commis- 
sioner sent to issue land titles to the colonists on the Trinity. 
It was said Madero was giving titles to those prohibited from 
entering Texas by the decree of April 6th. Again, he 
abolished the municipality established by Madero at Liberty, 
in the midst of a population, and erected one at Anahuac, a 
town laid out by Teran, when he visited Texas in 1830. 
But Bradburn found it difficult to thwart the will of the 
people The officers he appointed to constitute the Ayunta- 
miento, left Anahuac, and sought refuge in Austin's colony. 
Again, by the joint act of Bradburn and Ugartechea, all the 
ports of Texas, except Anahuac, were closed to commerce. 
This was intended to concentrate all business at Bradburn's 
headquarters. But Anahuac was outside of Austin's 
colony, and was inaccessible to vessels drawing over six feet 
of water. This was a severe blow to the citizens of the 
Brazos, who carried on a larger trade by water than all the 
rest of Texas. " xln indignation meeting," says Burnet, 
'' was promptly held at Brazoria, and Dr. Branch T. Archer 
and George B. McKinstr}^ were appointed a committee to 
wait on Colonel Bradburn, the senior officer, and demand 
the abrogation of the order. Bradburn equivocated, and 
required time to consult his superior. General Teran, then 
at Tampico. The committee were not to be cajoled ; they 



180 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

demanded an instant revocation and it was granted. It 
was probable, therefore, that the injurious order was based 
on the sole authority of the two subalterns." 

Bradburn ajDpears to have taken a delight in annoying 
the Texans. Having failed in his attempt to close all the 
ports in Austin's colony, he next essayed to set the negro 
slaves free, and proclaimed himself their special guardian, 
protecting those who threw themselves into his fort. 
Among the negroes who there sought refuge were some from 
Louisiana. These were demanded on the authority of a 
requisition from the Governor of that Commonwealth. 
Bradburn refused to surrender them, alleging that they had 
enlisted as soldiers in the Mexican army. His next act of 
op2H'ession was to send a file of soldiers and arrest and 
imprison certain citizens — among them Patrick C. Jack, 
William B. Travis, Monroe Edwards and others ; and 
though there were no formal charges against them, he 
threatened to send them to Vera Cruz for trial. Tidings of 
these outrages flew through the country, producing the most 
profound alarm and indignation. IS'umbers flocked towar ds 
Anahuac, both from the Brazos and the Trinity rivers. 
They met, to the number of about sixty, and effected a mill 
tary organization ; Frank W. Johnson being elected first,, 
and Warren D. C. Hall second in command. When ap- 
proaching Anahuac, a small party of Bradburn's soldiers 
were encountered and made prisoners. This was early in 
June. A deputation of the citizens was sent to Anahuac,. 
to intercede for the release of the prisoners. At first this 
failed, and when a collision between the citizens and soldiers 
seemed inevitable, a liberal Mexican officer. Colonel Souverin, 
23roffered his services as mediator. The Texans then had 
nineteen of Bradburn's soldiers, and Bradburn had seven- 
teen citizens under arrest. At the instance of Souverin, it 
was agreed that the Texans should release their prisoners- 
immediately, and that Bradburn would discharge the citi- 
zens under arrest on the following morning. The soldiers 



SAXTA ANNA. 181 

were released and sent into the fort. But Bradburn, having 
heard of the approach of Piedras from JVacogdoches, 
viohited his j^lighted faith and kept his prisoners. The 
citizens then resolved, at all hazards, to take the fort, and 
dispatched John Austin and William J. Russel to Brazoria 
for a cannon. 

At this juncture of affairs, news arrived that Santa Anna 
had 23ronounced against Bustemente, and in favor of the 
abrogated constitution of 1824. On the 13th of June, 1832, 
a meeting of about one hundred citizens was held at Taylor 
White's, on Turtle Bayou. This meeting declared for 
the new movement of Santa Anna, looking upon him as the 
representative of Republicanism and popular liberty. 'No 
doubt the influence of Santa Anna's agent, Souverin, was 
felt at this meeting. 

At this juncture, and while the Texans were waiting for 
the return of Austin with the cannon, Piedras, with a part 
of his command and a band of Cherokee Indians, arrived 
in the neighborhood. He sent an officer to the Texas camp, 
to know their object. Commissioners were appointed to 
confer with him, and an accommodation was soon had. 
Piedras proved himself a gentleman. Bradburn was 
relieved from command, and sent to New Orleans ; and the 
prisoners in the fort unconditionally released. 

As we have stated, Captain John Austin was sent from 
Anahuac to Brazoria for a cannon to assist in the capture 
of Bradburn's fort. Although the difficulties there had 
been adjusted, that was not known on the Brazos. Brazoria 
county was the most wealthy and populous in the province, 
i:>roducing more cotton and carrying on a more extensive 
trade than all the other districts. Bradburn's order, 
closing their port, had rendered them justly indignant, and 
at a meeting in the town of Brazoria as early as May 11th, 
a proposition to capture the fort of Velasco had failed by 
only one vote. Ugartechea, the commander, had, however, 
promised to remain neutral in the contest with Bradburn, 



182 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and had thus rendered himself popular with the people. 
But when Austin asked permission to transfer the cannon 
from the town of Brazoria, and by his fort, in a vessel, 
TJgartechea refused. Austin at once called for volunteers to 
capture Velasco and its garrison. One hundred and twelve 
men responded to this call. The fort was garrisoned by 
125 soldiers, and j)rotected by artillery. At Brazoria, 
Austin placed his cannon, with a few men, on a small 
sail vessel under command of Captain William J. Russell, 
and started it down the river, while most of the men went 
by land. The vessel moored near the bank, within easy 
range of the fort. Arrived at the mouth of the river. 
Captain / ustin separated his men into two companies, 
commanding one himself, and placing the others under 
Capt. Henry S. Brown. The latter took a position near 
the beach, where he was partially protected by a pile of 
drift wood. Under cover of darkness, Captain Austin, 
carrying plank with which to erect j)alisades, advanced 
very near the fort and threw up temporary breastworks. 
About midnight, June 25th, the battle commenced, and 
continued till daylight, when a shower of rain damaged 
the ammunition of the Texans. The breastworks not 
affording sufficient protection, Austin changed his position. 
In the meantime, every Mexican whose head appeared 
above the parapet was picked off by the riflemen. When 
TJgartechea found it difficult to induce his men longer to 
mount the parapet to fire his gun, he boldly mounted it 
himself, and stretched him self 'up to his full height. The 
Texans were so struck with this exhibition of personal 
heroism, that they spared his life. In a short time after- 
ward, a white flag was hoisted and the fort surrendered. * 

* In this engagement the Mexicans lost 35 killed and 15 wounded. Loss of 
the Texans, 8 killed and 27 wounded. Among the killed was Aylott C. Buck- 
ner, a noted Indian fighter from Buckner's Creek, on the Colorado. The mate 
of the vessel was Idlled, while hing in his berth. He was a poor man, and a 
non-combatant, and the planters raised a subscription for the benefit of his 
famil.y. Among the Texans wounded was Henry Suiifh. afterwards Governor. 
James P. Caldwell, Edwin Waller, and Kobert H. Williams, who lost an e^t,. 








:^4 r 



FORT ON THE WESTERN BORDER. 



WARLIKE COMMOTIONS ENDED. 185 

During the month of July, succeeding these events, 
Colonel Jose Antonio Mexia, one of Santa Anna's officers, 
arrived with four vessels at the mouth of the Brazos, 
bringing with him our member of Congress, Stephen F. 
Austin. The object of Mexia's visit was to place Texas in 
thorough accord with the new Republican departure of Santa 
Anna. At the same time, the political chief of the department, 
Don Ramon Musquez, visited San Felipe. At a session of 
the Ayuntamiento, after a full canvassing of the subject, that 
body, while denouncing " the tyrannical and illegal acts of 
Colonel Bradburn," solemnly declared their adherence to 
the principles of the Republican party headed by Santa 
Anna, and disclaimed having in view any other object than 
to contribute in sustaining the constitution, and the true 
dignity and decorum of the national flag. This satisfied 
Mexia, and he returned to Matamoras ; but before his de- 
parture he addressed a letter to Piedras, inviting him to 
join the Republican party. 

Though Colonel Piedras had acted nobly at Anahuac, he 
was a monarchist, and in principle opposed to Republican- 
ism, and he utterly refused to adhere to the party of Santa 
Anna. At a public meeting of the citizens of JN^acogdoches, 
a committee, consisting of Isaac W. Burton, Philip A. 
Sublett and Henry W. Augustin, was appointed to confer 
with him. He still j^roved obstinate, and the citizens then 
proceeded to organize a military company for his capture. 
The first conflict took place near the old stone house', which, 
after a severe fight, was captured by Captain Bradley and 
Lieutenant Looney. A body of Mexican cavalry, sent to 
recover the house, was repulsed with severe loss in this en- 
counter. Don Engarnacion Chirino, Alcalde of the town, 
who had warmly espoused the Republican cause, was killed. 
At nightfall Piedras threw his ammunition into wells, and 
left the place, retreating to the west. The next day a party 
of Texans intercepted the retreating foe at the Angelina 
River. At the water's edge the Texans fired, and killed 



186 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Lieutenant Marcos, the officer in command of the advance 
party. Piedras knew that most of his men sympathized 
with the Republicans, and to avoid the effusion of bloody 
turned over the command to Major Medina, who, with his- 
men, at once pronounced for Santa Anna. In this engage- 
ment the Mexicans lost about forty killed, and a like num- 
ber wounded. The loss of the Texans, three killed and five- 
wounded. 

The three most important garrisons sent to Texas by 
order of Bustemente had now been disposed of. Both 
soldiers and citizens harmonized in the movement inaugu- 
rated by Santa Anna for the restoration of the constitu- 
tion of 1824. There was no longer any use for soldiers in 
Texas, and Colonel Souverin, who had become commander at 
Anahuac, collected the men formerly composing the 
commands of Bradburn, Ugartechea and Piedras, and 
sailed for Tampico, to assist in the revolution against Buste- 
mente. 

" Thus ended," says Edwards, " the warlike commotions- 
of these colonies. On the 2d of September, 1832, just as- 
the inhabitants were informed that their greatest arch- 
enemy, General Teran, and his troops, on their way from 
Mexico to Matamoras, had been surrounded by the Liberal 
forces of General Montezuma — and that too, on the identical 
plain where the injudicious Iturbide lost his life — Teran, 
having determined within himself neither to unite with the- 
Liberals nor submit to them as a prisoner, retired to a 
private place and fell on his own sword — appearing, to those 
who found him still alive, as inexorable in the hour of death 
as he was uncompromising in political life." " Texas," says 
Burnet, " now breathed one enthusiastic feeling of admira- 
tion for Santa Anna as the undoubted hero and main support 
of the Federation," an opinion which subsequent events- 
materially modified. 



CHAPTER YI. 



HOSTILE LEGISLATIOX— MOVKMKN'T FOR A SEPARATION FROM COAHUILA— CONVEN- 
TION OF 1S33— AUSriN SENT AS COMMISSIONER TO MEXICO— SANTA ANNA DESKRT& 
THE LIBERAL PA KTY—Ii EVOLUTION IN COAHUILA— AUSTIN IN PRISON— SANTA. 
ANNA'S ULTIMATUM TO TEXAS. 



IN April, 1832, the Legislature at Saltillo, doubtless by 
the direction of Bustemente, repealed the liberal gen- 
eral colonization law, and promulgated another, based upon 
the decree of April 6th, 1830, excluding Americans from 
the State. By the new law, none but Mexicans could 
become empresas. But the influence of the Texas delegation 
was so far felt, that a law was enacted creating new munic- 
ipalities, and allowing the people to elect their officers. 

When Texas was, in 1824, attached to Coahuila, it was- 
understood that the arrangement was only temporary, and 
as soon as Texas had a sufficient population, it was to be 
erected into a State of the Mexican Federation. Her 
population was now equal to that of the smaller States. 
Her people were in perfect accord with the Government 
under Santa Anna, and it was thought the time was favora- 
ble for a dissolution of its unnatural connections with its 
trans-Rio Grande sister. In October, 1832. a number of 
leading citizens held a consultation at San FelijDe, and 
advised the election of delegates to meet and form a consti- 
tution for a separate State. * 

* In this movement the people of Bexar perfectly harmonized with those of 
Austin's colony. A meiuorial was sent fortli from San Antonio mining the 
measure, signed by Jose de La Garza. Angel Xavarro, Jose Casiano, flannel 
Ximenes, Juan Angel Seguin, Jose M. Sembrano, and Ignatio Arocha. At 
Brazoria, a public meeting of those favoring the separation Avas called, 
and presided over by Henry Smith. Among those participating 
were L. Rainey. S. Bowen, C. D. Sayre, A. G. Miles. J. Calvit, Sterling Mc- 
Neil. Dr. Council, J. II. Polly. J. W. Cloud, P. Smith. P. R. Splane. Oliver 
Jones, Dr. Parrott and David Raudun. 



188 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The election for delegates was held in March, 1833, and 
the Convention met in San Felipe in April following. 
William H. Wharton was elected President and Thomas 
Hastings, Secretary. We have no means of knowing the 
exact number of delegates, as their proceedings were never 
published, and were probably lost when San Felipe was 
burned in 1836. Among the more important committees, 
Sam Houston was chairman of the one to draft a Constitu- 
tion, and David C. Burnet of the one to draw up a memorial 
to the General Government. The Constitution may be 
found in Edwards' history. It is Republican in form, and 
secures the right of trial by jury, and is very much like 
the constitutions of the States of the North American 
Union, with modifications to adapt it to the situation of the 
Mexican Federation. The memorial prepared by Burnet 
may be found in Yoakum's history. It is a long and very 
able document. We copy a paragraph relating to the 
evils of a continued connection with Coahuila : 

" Thiit coujunction was in its origin unnatural and constrained, and the 
longer it is continued, the more disastrous it will prove. The two territo- 
ries are disjunct in all their prominent respective relations. In point of 
locality, they approximate only by a strip of sterile and useless territory, 
which must long remain a comparative wilderness, and present many 
serious embarrassments to that facility of intercoui'se which should always 
exist between the seat of government and its remote population. In respect 
to commerce and its varions intricate relations, there is no community of 
interests between them. In point of climate and natural productions, the 
two territories are equally dissimilar. Coahuila is a pastoral and a mining 
country, and Texas is characteristically an agricultural district."' 

For these and many ether reasons, the memorialists pray 
that T^xas may be erected into a separate State. Three 
commissioners were selected to proceed to the city of 
Mexico, to lay the Constitution and Memorial before the 
Conixress and the executive authorities of the nation. 
Stephen F. Austin was the only one who undertook the 
journey. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the Convention, 



AUSTIN IN PRISON. 189 

Austin started for the city of Mexico to fulfill the objects of 
his mission * (See Austin.) He found Farias, the Vice- 
President, occupying the place of Santa Anna, who had 
retired to his hacienda to mature his plans for abandon- 
ing the Republicans, forming an alliance with the Church 
party, and overthrowing the Constitution and establishing 
a central despotism. Though Austin failed in his main 
purpose, he succeeded in having modified the (Oppressive 
edicts of Bustemente against Americans. After several 
months delay, and inefi^ectual attempts to secure a separate 
government, he finally started home; was arrested at 
Saltillo, and taken back to the city and thrown into prison, 
where he languished for nearly two years ; part of the time 
deprived of the light of day and of the use of books and 
papers. 

Texas was comparatively quiet during the early months 
of 1834 ; but Coahuila was in a state of revolution. The 
Legislature had transferred the seat of government from 
Saltillo to Monclova. To this the inhabitants of the former 
city objected, and on the 10th of July, pronounced against 
the State government and elected Jose Maria Goribar, 
Grovernor. The Ayuntamiento of Monclova, in conjunc- 
tion with some members of the Legislature, elected Juan 
Jose Elguezabal, Governor. The rival parties were pre- 
paring for w^r, when commissioners from each met and 
agreed to refer the question in dispute to Santa Anna, who 
ordered a new election, 

Santa Anna now began to give serious attention to the 
situation in Texas. On the 5th of October, 1834, he con- 
voked a meeting to consider the Texas question. It was 



* No complete list of the members of the Convention of 1833 can be found. 
We subjoin a partial list: Stephen F. Austin. David G. Burnet, Sam Houston^ 
W. n. Wharton, Henry Smith, Ira R. Lewis, Oliver Jones, Gail Borden, Jr., 
R. M. Williamson, Jesse Grimes, F. Bingham, James Kerr, Jared E. Groce, 
John D. Newell, R. R. Royall, George Sutherland, and Eli Mercer. The com- 
missioners sent to Mexico were, besides Austin, J. B. Miller, William M. 
Wliarton, or, as Kennedy says, Erasmo Seguin, in place of Wliarton. 



190 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

composed of his four Secretaries of State, the three repre- 
sentatives from Coahuila in the Federal Congress, three of 
his confidential generals, Lorenzo de Zavalla and Stephen 
F. Austin. The latter strenuously urged the separation of 
Texas from Coahuila. This was bitterly opposed by Victor 
Blanco and the other members from Coahuila. After a 
three hours' discussion, Santa Anna resolved 

1. *' That he would meditate maturely the decree repealing the 11th 
article of the law of the 6th of April, 1830, and, if no objections were pre- 
sented, he would give it his sanction. 

2. "That a corps, composed of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, four 
thousand strong, should be stationed at Bexar for the protection of the 
coast and frontier of the country, to be under the command of General 
Mexia. 

3. ^' That proper steps should be taken to have regular mails, and to 
remove all obstacles to the agricultural and other industries of the inhab- 
itants, who are viewed with the greatest regard. 

4. *' That Texas must necessarily remain united with Coahuila, because 
it had uot the elements warranting a separation ; nor would it be con- 
venient. And although it might be allowed to form a Territory, if the 
inhabitants called for it, yet, the dismembering of a State was unknown to 
the Mexican laws, and he would be at a loss how to proceed." 

The above conditions, especially the second and fourth, 
were hard on Texas. What a large force and how strangely 
located to protect either the coast or the frontier ! And 
then the objection to dismembering a State was puerile, 
as the union of Coahuila with Texas was conceded to be 
•only temporary. However, Austin appears to have con- 
fided in the President's professions of friendship, and 
although he was still held " in durance vile," wrote on the 
2d of- December, after the settlement had been effected 
between the contending factions in Coahuila : " All is 
chano-ed since October of last year. Then there was no 
local government in Texas ; now there is, and the most of 
your evils have been remedied, so that it is now important 
to promote union with all the State, and keep down all 
kinds of excitement. All is oroum well. The President, 
Oeneral Santa Anna, has solemnly and publicly declared 



CIVIL LIBERTY. 191 

that he will sustain the federal representative system, as it 
now exists, and he will be sustained by all parties." 

The Texans generally failed to view so favorably the 
plans of the aspiring President, and doubted his profes- 
sions of attachment to a representative government. The 
real purpose of Santa Anna was soon disclosed. Of this 
purpose, and its results to Texas, we will treat hereafter. 



PART IV 
The Revolution. 



FROM 1835 TO 1836. 



Vi 



CHAPTER I. 

.-SANTA ANNA DEVELOPING HIS NEW POLICY— AUSTIN STILL A STATE PRISONER- 
CITIZENS DISARMED— ZACATECAS RESISTS THE USURPER — FRAUDS INCOaHUILA 
— LEGISLATURE DISPERSED BY COS — MILAM AND VIESCA TAKEN PRISONERS — 
RKPUBLICANS defeated AT ZACATECAS— SANTA ANNA DICTATOR— PARTIES IN 
TEXAS—CAPTAIN THOMPSON AND THE CORREO— PROSCRIBED PATRIOTS. 

VIEWED from a material stand-point, the infant 
settlements in Texas were, at the commencement of 
the revolutionary period, in a most prosperous and encour- 
aging state. The colonists had found what they sought — 
delightful homes in a most desirable country. Population 
was steadily on the increase ; herds of cattle and horses 
were multiplying ; cotton, sugar, corn, etc., were produced 
with little cultivation, in the greatest quantities. With 
such an abundance of the necessaries, and even the luxuries 
of life, the planters were contented and happy. But the 
prospect, so pleasing to contemplate, was overhung with 
dark and portentous clouds in the political horizon. In 
Mexico, Santa Anna had resumed the reins of government, 
and was gradually developing his plans for the overthrow 
of the Republic and the establishment of a centralized 
despotism. He was ambitious, unscrupulous, and whimsi- 
cal. He had betra^^ed and abandoned the party that 
elevated him to the presidency, and was now in full accord 
with the aristocratic and church party — a party against 
which he had been contending all his previous life. He 
had somewhat mitigated the rigors of Austin's imprison- 
ment, but kept him in confinoment. He still held out 
hopes to Austin, that his petition in reference to Texas 
might ultimately be granted. But Austin was ignorant of 



198 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the charges under which he had been arrested, and had 
vainly sought a tribunal comj^etent to take cognizance of 
his case. 

Among the concessions to Texas, was an additional dele- 
gate in the legislature of the joint State. But owing to the 
revolution in Coahuila, this proA^ed of no advantage. In 
the elections in the fall of 1834, the Centralist party, now 
headed by Santa Anna, was everywhere triumphant, 
except in Zacatecas, and Coahuila and Texas. At the 
meeting of Congress, Zacatecas was declared in a state of 
rebellion ; and to secure perfect quiet, an act was passed 
reducino; the number of militia to one soldier for each five 
hundred inhabitants, and disarming the remainder. 
Congress also claimed the power to modify, at will, the 
Constitution of 1824, under which they were elected. These 
acts of usurpation not only justified, but demanded resist- 
ance on the part of the real Republicans of the nation. 
Zacatecas prepared to resist, and the legislature of Coahu- 
ila 2)rotested. 

At the -election held in pursuance of the award of Santa 
Anna, Augustin Yiesca was elected governor, and Ramon 
Musquiz vice-governor of the State. One of the first acts- 
of the newly-convened Legislature was the fraudulent and 
unwarranted sale of 400 leagues of Texas land. But this 
act, passed March 14, by the Legislature, was abrogated by 
the National Congress on the 25th of April following. The 
act was fraudulent, and its abrogation unconstitutional. * 



* This note on the successive occupants of the executive chair, is from a 
sketch of this period, written by Judge Burnet, and found in tlie Texas Ahnanac 
of 1849: — '' Tlie last decree bearing the signature of Governor Vilhisenor is 
dated July 3, 1834. The next, without date, is signed by J. A. Tijerina. Pres- 
ident of the Administrative Coiuicil. Next in order, Xo. 25)2, March 
12. 1835, is subscribed by Jose M. Gantu. who appears as governor ad interim^ 
but soon retires behind the curtain ; aiul decree Xo. 295 introduces one B(^r- 
ego. whose signature indicates his lieing governor pro tern . He figures- 
onward to decree No. 299, of April 14, when Augustin Viesca appears in his 
official robes." 



liEVOLUTIOXARY MOYEMEJN^TS. 199 

Scarcely had Vies c a assumed the gubernatorial reins 
at Monclova, when the deputies from Saltillo withdrew, 
and after Mexican fashion, pronounced against the new 
government. In this they were encouraged by the com- 
manding general, Cos, the brother-in-law of Santa Anna, 
who was at once invested with civil, as well as military 
authority. Cos hastily dispersed the Legislature in session 
at Monclova. Yiesca, at first, determined to remove the 
executive archives to San Antonio, and had traveled one 
day in this direction, when he changed his mind and 
resolved to submit to Santa Anna. Arriving at Monclova, 
he again changed his mind, and started for Texas in compa- 
ny with B. R. Milam and John Cameron. The party was 
overtaken and captured by the soldiers of Cos, and all 
started for safe-keeping to the castle of San Juan de Ulloa; 
but fortunately all, at different times and places, made their 
escape and reached Texas in safety. 

In April, Santa Anna, at the head of an army of nearly 
five thousand men, started toward Zacatecas to reduce thai 
Kepublican State to submission. Governor Francisco 
Oarcia was a pure Republican and a civilian of considerable 
experience, but with no military reputation. With troops 
in number about equal to those under Santa Anna, he 
marched out of the city and occupied the Guadalupe i:4ains. 
Here, on the morning of May 11th, was fought a most bloody 
and, to the Republicans, a most disastrous battle. Two 
thousand of their number were killed or wounded, and the 
remainder taken prisoners. v • 

The situation was briefly this : The governor was a 
prisoner ; and the Legislature had been dispersed by the 
miltary under General Cos, who assumed dictatorial powers,- 
subordinate only to his master, Santa Anna. At the 
Federal capital, the Congress had been dissolved; the 
constitution overthrown; the civil power annihilated; and 
it only needed the Plan of Toluca, formally proclaimed 
August 8th, clothing the President with unlimited power , 



200 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and the decree of the despot, October 3d, suspending the- 
functions of all State Legislatures, to complete the revolu- 
tion in Mexico. 

While the people of Texas were thus left with scarcely a. 
semblance of civil government, they held no allegiance to the^ 
military despotism which had superseded the constitutional 
authorities in Mexico. The j^olitical chiefs and Alcaldes 
still exercised their functions ; but the laws and precedents 
by which they were guided were of Sj^anish origin, and 
illy accorded with the principles of civil liberty prevalent 
among the Anglo-American colonists. Mostly farmers, they 
were naturally averse to any warlike measures that could 
be honorably averted. A few were for submission to Santa 
Anna. Others were for quietly awaiting the return of 
Austin, who, as late as March 10th, wrote : " The territorial 
question is now dead. The advocates of that measure are 
now strongly in favor of a State government, and the subject 
is before Congress. A call has been made upon the Pres- 
ident for information on the subject, and I am assured the- 
President will make his communication in a few days, and 
that it will be decidedly in favor of Texas and the State." 
Still another small but active party favored an immediate 
declaration of Texan independence. R. M. Williamson, one 
of the leaders of the war party, in a famous address, on the 
4th of July, declared that, " Our country, our liberty, our 
lives are all involved in the present contest between the 
State and the military." 

While Santa Anna was deluding Austin and the Texans 
with promises of ^\\m^^ /avoidable attention to their demands, 
he was making active preparations .for the military occu- 
pancy of the province. In July Gen. Ugartechea, with 
about 500 men, landed on Lavaca Bay, and proceeded at 
once to San Antonio. His purpose was still ostensibly to 
collect the revenue. He sent Captain Tenorio with twenty 
men to Anahuac, to take chnrge of the custom-house. The 
Texans justly complained of the enormous dues demanded^ 



THOMPSON U^FIT FOR HIS POSITION. 201 

and a company, under W. B. Travis, who was still smart- 
ing under his former treatment, surrounded Tenorio, and 
disarmed him and his soldiers. This high-handed act was 
severely condemned by the Ayuntamiento of Liberty, and 
that of San Felij^e, after investigating the aflfair, released 
Tenorio and his men, and restored their arms and papers. 

"An exaggerated account of these proceedings," says 
Kennedy, " having reached General Cos, he dispatched Cap- 
tain Thompson, a naturalized citizen of Mexico, in the war 
schooner Correo, to Galveston, to inquire into the circum- 
stances of the affair, and report as soon as possible the 
result of his investigation, at Matamoras. Thompson proved 
himself altogether unfit for his mission. Instead of institu- 
ting an inquiry into the facts of the alleged outrage, he 
assumed the character of a blustering dictator, exceeded his 
orders, and under the pretext of protecting the revenue, 
attacked and captured a vessel in the Texas trade. This 
had the effect of irritating the public mind against both 
Thompson and the government, and the former having 
continued to linger on the Texas coast, the San Felij^e, a 
merchant vessel, commanded by Captain Hurd, captured 
the Correo, and sent it and its commander to New Orleans, 
under a charge of piracy." 

On reporting to Ugartechea, at San Antonio, Tenorio w^as 
sent back to the Brazos on a still more ungracious errand. 
Lorenzo de Zavalla, after having been sent into honorable 
exile, as Minister to France, had, when he heard of the 
despotic proceedings of Santa Anna, his former trusted 
friend, sought refuge in Texas. Santa Anna dreaded the 
influence of so stern a Republican, and ordered his imme- 
diate arrest. On the 24th of July, Tenorio presented this 
order to Wylie Martin, acting political chief of the Brazos. 
Martin, under some pretext, declined to undertake the arrest. 
Soon afterwards another order came from headquarters, 
ordering the arrest of R. M. Williamson, W. B. Travis, 
Samuel M. Williams, Mosely Baker, F. W. Johnson, and 



202 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

John H. Moore ; and a subsequent order included the names 
of J. M. Carravahal and Juan Zembrano. The two hist 
named being Mexican citizens of San Antonio, were seized, 
and sent into INfexico. No officer could he found to attempt 
to take the others The last order was dated September 3d. 




MEXICANS. 



CHAPTER II. 



COMMITTEES OF SAFETY— AUSTIN'S RETURN— CANDELLE AT GOLIAD — CONFLICT AT 
GONZALES— GOLIAD CAPTURED BY THE TEXANS— AUSTIN IN COMMAND ON THE 
GUADALUPE— THE CONSULTATION— PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT— AUSTIN MARCHES 
TOWARDS SAN ANTONIO^BATTLEOF CONCEPCION — THE GRASS FIGHT — THE EXECU- 
TIVE COUNCIL. 



SELF-RELIANT people, whose interests and liberties 
are imperilled, will not long lack the means necessary 
for concert in action. Texas was threatened with invasion by 
a government to which it had a right to look for protection. 
Again, the Indians were more or less troublesome. A 2:>arty 
of merchants, transporting goods westward a few miles 
from Gonzales, was surrounded by a band of hostile Lipans, 
and the merchants and teamsters killed, and the goods 
taken. Ostensibly to provide for protection against these 
savages, committees of safety were organized in different 
municipalities. It was the business of these committees to 
collect and disseminate information — to secure arms and 
ammunition, and in case of necessity, to call out and drill 
the militia. * 

. It was thought advisable to have a Central Committee, 
to give direction to public affairs, and on the 17th of July, 
delegates from some of the adjacent municipalities met at 

* We have not the names composing all these connnittees. The first organ- 
ized was at Bastrop. The members were J. W. Bunton, S. Wolfinbarger, 1). C 
Barrett JohnMcGehee, B. Manlove and Ed Burleson. At San Felipe, R. M. 
Williamson, was chairman. There was a large committee at Brazoria — Jolm A. 
W'harton, W. D. C. Hall, Henry Smith, Silas Dinsmore. James F. Perry, John 
G. MiXeill, Robert II. W^illiams, William li. Jack, F. A Bingham, John Ilodge, 
Wade H. Bynum, Branch T. Archer, William T. Austin. P. Bertrand and Isaac 
Tinsley. At Nacogdoches, Sam Houston, Thomas J. Rusk, Frost Thorn and 
others composed the committee. 



206 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

San Felipe, and organized what was called an Administra- 
tive Council.* 

Among other acts, this Council sent Messrs. Barrett and 
Gritton on a mission of peace to Ugartechea at San Antonio. 
The mission was abortive. The idea of a general Consul- 
tation, to be composed of delegates from all the municipal- 
ities was still discussed. ZavaUa had w^armly advocated 
such a meeting ; and while the subject was as yet undecided, 
Stephen F. Austin returned to his colony. His return was 
hailed with delight, and he was at once installed chairman 
of the San Felipe Council. Austin, however, was chagrined 
to tind Texas in so disorganized a condition. " I had fully 
hoped," said he, " to have found Texas at peace and in 
tranquility ; but regret to find it in commotion — all disor- 
ganized, all in anarchy, and threatened with immediate 
hostilities." In a speech on the 8th of September, at Bra- 
zoria, he declared in favor of their " constitutional rights,. 
and the peace and security of Texas ; also for a general 
Consultation of the j)eople." The term Consultation was used, 
because Ugartechea had especially objected to the word 
Convention, as savoring too much of revolution. The 
election w^as held on the 3d of October. 

Notwithstanding Santa Anna's active preparations for 
war, he still professed to have very pacific views in refer- 
ence to Texas. He had verbally and expressly authorized 
Col. Austin to " say to the people that he w^as their friend, 
that he wished for their prosperity, and would do all he 
could to promote it ; and that in the new Constitution he 
would use his influence to give to the people of Texas a 
special organization suited to their education, habits and 
situation." 

* The following delegates constituted this Council : From Columbia — J. A. 
Wharton, James F. PeiTy, Sterling M'Neill, James Knight and Josiah II. 
Bell. From Austin — A. Somervell, John Ilice Jones, Wjlie Martin. Jesse 
Bartlett and C. B. Stewart- From Mina— D. C. Barrett. R. M. Williamson. 
Wylie Martin, S. F. Austin and R. R. Royall were, at difterent times, 
chairmen of this body, and A. Huston and C. B. Stewart were secretaries. 



CANDELLE AT GOLIAD. 207 

The treatment which the Texans received, in that por- 
tion of the State occupied by Santa Anna's troops, did not 
exactly correspond with these professions of peace and 
good-will. We have seen that Ugartechea had arrested 
two staunch Republican citizens of San Antonio, and had 
sent them to Monterey ; and the efforts he was putting 
f6rth to arrest Zavalla and others. At Gohad, Colonel jS'icho- 
las Candelle, the commander, signalized the commencement 
of his barbarous reign, by imprisoning the Alcalde and 
extorting from the Admmistradorn forced loan of five thou- 
sand dollars, " under the penalty of being sent on foot tO' 
Bexar in ten hours. He also stripped the town of arms, 
pressed the people into the ranks as soldiers, and gave 
notice that troops w^ould be quartered upon the citizens — 
five to a family — and should be supported by them." 

In pursuance of the general plan to disarm all citizens,, 
Ugartechea sent Captain Castenado, with about 150 men,, 
to seize a small cannon which had been given to the corpo- 
ration of Gonzales for protection against the Indians. The 
citizens, unwilling to part wdth the gun, organized and 
prepared to resist, by force, the demand of Castenado. The 
ferry boats were removed to the east side of the river, and 
a guard, under Captain Albert Martin, stationed on the 
river bank to prevent the crossing of the Mexican soldier?. 
The first demand was made on the 29th of September. 
Captain Martin then had but eighteen men, but in a day 
or two the number had increased to 168. A military 
organization took place ; John H. Moore being elected 
Colonel, and J. W. E. Wallace, Lieutenant-Colonel. Cas- 
tenado was in camp about half a mile from the ferry, and 
Moore determined to cross the river with the cannon and 
compel him to retreat. During a fog on the morning of 
October 2d, the Mexicans took a position on a high mound, 
prepared for defense. The officers of the two parties met 
and failed to come to an agreement, though Castenado 
professed himself a Republican and unwilling to fight the 



208 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Texans. The Texans, however, with the brass piece, 
advanced for an attack, and discharged their gun. The 
Mexicans hastily retreated to Bexar. 

The news of the conflict at Gonzales roused a warlike 
spirit throughout the country. Captain George Collins- 
worth, of Matagorda, raised a company for the capture of 
the Mexican garrison at Goliad. The night this compam^ 
reached the neighborhood of the town, they fortunately fell 
in with the celebrated Benjamin R. Milam, who had escaped 
from the guard at Monterey, and was making his way 
back to Texas. Reinforced by so valuable a recruit, an 
attack was at once determined upon. ' As there had been 
no formal declaration of war, the garrison w^as not antici- 
pating an attack, and were wholly unprepared for it. The 
Texans numbered only forty-eight men. They first attacked 
the quarters of Lieutenant-Colonel Sandoval, the command- 
ant. The sentinel on duty fired his piece, and was imme- 
diately shot down. The door of Sandoval's room was 
broken open with axes and he was taken prisoner. As the 
result of the capture, the Texans took about twenty-five 
prisoners, three hundred stand of arms, and military stores 
to the value of $10,000. The place was left in command of 
Captain Phillip Dimit. Goliad was captured October 
8th. Three weeks later, Captain Westover captured, after 
some fighting, the Mexican fort at Lipantitlan, on the 
Nueces river. 

The men who, at the first call to arms, had rushed to 
Gonzales, had effected no permanent organization, and 
were unprepared for a regular campaign. They recognized 
no civil authority, and had no leader who commanded 
general confidence. Under these circumstances, messen- 
gers went from Gonzales to San Felipe, with a request that 
Colonel Austin should be sent to the command. His 
services were not especially required in the Council, and 
that body gave its consent to his departure. He arrived 
at Gonzales on the 11th of October, and was selected as 
the commander by the soldiers in camp. 



PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED. 209 

October 16th was the day fixed for the meeting of the 
t ynsultation ; but on that day there were but thirty-one 
delegates present, and an adjournment was moved to ^K'o- 
vember 1st. It was the 3d of the month before a quorum 
appeared, when the body w^as organized by electing Branch 
T. Archer, President, and P. B. Dexter, Secretary. The 
next day R. R. Royall, chairman of the Administrative 
Council, turned over all the papers and documents in his 
poiisession, and that council ceased its functions. A few of 
the members w^ere for an immediate declaration of inde- 
pendence; but a majority thought it advisable to remain 
under the Constitution of 1824. 

On the 5th of JS'ovember, the following preamble and 
resolutions were adopted : 

"Whereas, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and other military 
chieftains, have by force of arms overthrown the Federal institutions of 
Mexico and dissolved the social compact which existed between Texas and 
other members of the Mexican Confederacy; now the good people of 
Texas, availing themselves of their natural rights, 

" Do solemnly declare — I. That they have taken up arms in defence of their 
rights and liberties which are threatened by encroachments of military des- 
pots, and in defence of the Republican institutions of the Constitution of 
Mexico of 1824. 

" 2. That Texas is no longer morally or civilly bound by the compact of 
the union. Yet, stimulated by the generosity and sympathy common to a 
free people, they offer their support and assistance to such members of the 
Mexican Confederacy as will take up arms against military despotism. 

" 3. They do not acknowledge that the present authorities of the nominal 
Mexican Repubiio have the right to govern within the limits of Texas. 

" 4. That they will not cease to carry on war against said authorities while 
their troops are within the limits of Texas. 

" 5. They hold it to be their right, during the disorganization of the Fed- 
eral system and the reign of despotism, to withdraw from the union and 
establish an independent government, or adopt such measures as they may 
deem best calculated to protect their rights and liberties ; but they will con- 
tinue faithful to the Mexican government so long as that nation is governed 
by the con«;titution and laws that were formed for the government of the 
political association. 

" 6. That Texas is responsible for the expenses of her armies now in the 
field. 

" 7. That the public faith of Texas is pledged for the payment of all debts 
contracted by her agents. 

" 8. That she will reward by donations in land, all who volunteer their 
services in her present struggle, and receive them as citizens. 



210 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" 9. These declarations we solemnly avow to the world, and call God to 
"witness their truth and sincerity; and invoke defeat and disgrace upon our 
iieads, should we prove guilty of duplicity." 

On the 12th an ordinance passed creating a provisional 
government, and an Executive Council, to be composed of 
■one member from each municipality. Henry Smith was 
elected Governor, James W. KobinsonXieutenant-Governor 
.and Sam Houston, commander of the army to be raised. 
The Consultation adjourned on the 14th of November; after 
selecting S. F. Austin, Branch T. Archer and William H. 
Wharton as Commissioners to the United States. * 



* The following is a list of members of the Consultation : 

Municipality of Austin — William Menifee, Wily Martin, Thomas Barnett, 
Handall Jones and Jesse Burnham; of B evil (afterwards Jasjyer) — John 
Bevil, Wyatt Hanks, Thomas Holmes, S. H. Everett and John H. Blount; 
of San Augustine — A. Huston, Jacob Garrett, William N. Sigler, A. E. C. 
•Johnson, Henry Augustine, Alexander Horton and A. G. Kellogg ; of Har- 
risburg — Lorenzo de Zavala, Clement C. Dyer, William P- Harris, M. W. 
Smith, John W. Moore and David B. Macomb ; of Matagorda — Ira R. Lew- 
is, R. R. Royall, Charles Wilson and John D. Newell; of Viesca {after- 
wards Milam) — J. G. W- Pierson, J. L Hood, Samuel T. Allen, A. G. Perry, 
J. W. Parker and Alexander Thomson ; of Nacogdoches — William Whita- 
ker, Sam Houston, Daniel Parker, James W. Robinson and N. Robins; of 
Columbia {afterwards Brazoria) — Jol)n A. Wharton, Henry Smith, Edwin 
Waller and J. S. D. Byrom ; of Liberty— Reury Millard, J. B. Wood, A. 
B. Harden and George M. Patrick; of Jlina {afterwards Bastrop) — D. C. 
Barrett, Robert M. Williamson and James S. Lester; of Washington — Asa 
Mitchell, Elijah Collard, Jesse Grimes, Philip Coe and Asa Hoxie; of Gon- 
zales — William S. Fisher, J. D. Clements, George W. Davis, Benjamin Fu- 
<iua, James Hodges and William W. Arrington ; of Tenehaw {afterwards 
Shelby) — Martin Parmer; of Jefferson — Claiborne West. 

The following named persons were at ditterent times members of the Gen- 
eral Council from the several Municipalities: 

Austin — Wily Martin, Thomas Barnett, and Randall Jones; Colorado — 
William Menifee and Jesse Burnham ; San Augustine — A. Huston and A. E. 
•C Johnson; Nacogdoches — Daniel Parker; Washington — Jesse Grimes, 
Asa Mitchell, Asa Hoxie, Philip Coe and Elijah Collard; Milam— A. G. 
Perry and Alexander Thomson ; Liberty — Henry Millard; Shelby — Martin 
Parmer and James B. Tucker ; Gonzales — J. D. Clements; Bastrop — D. C. 
Barrett andBartlettSinis; 2Iatagorda — R. R. Royall, Charles Wilson and I. 
R. Lewis; Hurrisburg — William P. Harris; Brazoria — John A.Wharton 
and Edwin Waller; Jasper — Wyatt Hanks; Jefferson — Claiborne West and 
O. A. Patillo; Victoria — J. A. Padiila and John J. Linn; liefugio — James 



THE FLAG OF TEXAS. 211 

In September, G-eneral Cos, with 500 additional soldiers, 
landed at Pass Cavallo and marched immediately to San 
Antonio, superseding General Ugartechea, who was dis- 
patched to the Rio Grande for reinforcements. 

Austin, after reaching Gonzales, and effecting a thorough 
reorganization of the volunteers, started for San Antonio, 
with the intention of capturing that stronghold of the 
enemy and key to Texas. He reached the Mission La 
Espada, nine miles below the city, on the 20th, where he 
remained a few days, resting and recruiting his men.* On 
the 27th, he detached the companies of Fannin and Bowie, 
consisting of ninety- two men, to ascend the river and, if 

Power and John Malone; Goliad — Ira Westovcr; San Patricio — Lewis 
Ayers and John McMullen ; Jackson — James Kerr; Sabine — J. S. Lane. 
The following were also oflScers of the Provisional Government: 
Seci'etaj'ies of the Coimcil — P. B. Dexter and E. M. Pease; Secretaries 
of the Governor — Charles B. Stewart and Edward B. "Wood ; Treasurer — 
Joshua Fletcher; Auditor — John W. Moody; Comptroller — H. C. Hudson; 
Post JIaster-Gene7'al— J ohu R.Jones. 

* The following account of the Flag of Texas, is from an address of Hon. 
Ouy M. Bryan, before the Texas Veteran Association, in 1873. Travis and 
the men of Alamo died fighting for the Mexican flag of 1^524, as they had 
not heard of the Declaration of Independence. The Lone Star emblem was 
a fortunate accident. A half century since overcoats were ornamented with 
large brass buttons. It happened that the buttons on the coat of Governor 
Smith had the impress of a five-pointed star. For want of a seal, one of 
these buttons was cut off and used : 

'' The first Lone Star flag that I can find account of was made at Ilarris- 
burgh in this county, and presented to the company of Captain Andrew 
Robinson, m 1835. The Lone Star was white, five pointed, and set in 
ground of red. 

"The Georgia battalion flag was azure, lone star, five points, in white 
field. This flag was raised as national flag on the walls of Goliad by Fan- 
nin when he heard of the Declaration of Independence. National flag 
adopted by President Burnet, at Harrisburg, 9th of April, 183G, for navul 
service— union blue, star central, and thirteen stripes, alternate red and 
white. December lUth, 1836, Congress adopted national flag— azure ground, 
with large golden star central, combined with flag adopted by President 
Burnet. This was amended by act, January 25th, 1839, that made the per- 
manent flag blue perpendicular stripe, width one-third of the whole, white 
star, five points in the centre, and the two horizontal stripes of equal breadth, 
upper white and lower red." 



212 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

practicable, select a more suitable camping place. Fannin 
spent that night in a bend of the San Antonio river, near 
the Conce2:>cion Mission, about one mile and a half below 
the city, on the east side of the river. This movement 
was, of course, well known in the city; and no doubt Cos 
congratulated himself with the thought that he would easily 
caj)ture this reconnoitering party. The next morning, 
Oct. 28th, was foggy and favored his design. But the 
Texans had chosen a favorable position for defense. The 
river was skirted with timber, with a narrow second bank, 
considerably lowe'r thnn the level prairie. Around this 
dei^ression of the surface, there was a bluff from six to 
ten feet high. The command was divided into two parties, 
each one taking a position along the skirt of timber on the 
upper and lower sides of the bend, having the open plain 
in front of them. It was naturally a strong position, the 
river and timber being in the rear of each division, with 
this natural parapet to fall behind in case of an attack. 
This, however, the Texans did not expect, and some of 
their number had ascended to the roof of the Mission, to 
obtain a clear view, as soon as possible after daylight, and 
were thus cut off from their companions during the fight. 
Durmg the dense fog, a considerable force of cavalry and 
infantry, with one cannon, had marched out from the city 
and surrounded the Texans on three sides. The fight com- 
menced about eight o'clock, the Mexican line presenting a 
continual sheet of flame. The Texans fired more cautiously 
and with more deadly effect. Their rifles picked off the 
gunners from the enemy's cannon. Three times the Mex- 
icans sounded the charge, but in vain ; the Texans hurled 
them back, and remained masters of the field. Sixteen 
dead bodies were found near the abandoned cannon, which 
had been discharged but five times. In this, the first real 
engagement of our Revolution the Texans lost one — Rich- 




Xs^v.-v.N-.S,.^, -i^X 



SAM. HOUSTON. 



EESIGNATION OF BOWIE. 215 

arcl Andrews — killed. As rejDorted by the Texans, the 
Mexican loss was about sixty killed. '''■ 

On the 31st of October, Austin moved up about a half a 
mile above, on the Alamo ditch, near the old mill ; and the 
next day, near the powder house, one mile east of the city. 
He then had about one thousand men in camp. But as 
they were but illy provided with arms and munitions of 
war, and without cannon, he was but poorly ^^repared to 
attack a still larger force, in a strongly fortified city. His 
long confinement had enfeebled his system, and he was 
destitute of experience as a military commander. The 
Texans in camp were characteristically independent, and 
commented somewhat freely on the plans of the commander. 
Bowie resigned his position as an officer, and others volun- 
teered any amount of good advice. Austin in the mean time 
dispatched a messenger for the cannon at Gronzales, to be 
used in an assault on the place. 

As an illustration of the difficulties which beset the 
commander, it may not be improper to state that on the 
13th of I^ovember, the day after General Houston was 
elected commander of the army lo be raised — not the volun- 
teers in the field, who had chosen Austin as their General 
— Houston wrote a confidential letter to Fannin, in which he 
said : " The army without means ought never to have 
passed the Guadalupe without the proper munitions of 
war to reduce San Antonio. Therefore the error cannot be 
in falling back to an eligible position." In another sen- 
tence, Houston advised the retreat to La Bahia and 
Gonzales. 

On the 2d of November, a full meeting of the commis- 

* As General Austin has been reflected upon, for separating his men so near 
the enemy, it is but justice to state that his order to Bowie was, to " Select a 
secure position to encamp the army to-night; and report with as little delay 
as possible, to give time to the army to march and take up its position before 
night. [Signed] S. F. Austin. 

"By order of P. W. Grayson, Aid-de-Campy 
Dated Oct. 27. 
14 



216 " HISTORY OF TEXAS. ^ 

sioned officers had decided, with but one dissenting voice, 
against an attempt to take the city by storm ; and Austin 
■was endeavoring to enforce a siege. On the 14th, Cos, to 
lessen the consumption of forage in the city, started some 
three hundred of his cavahy horses to the Rio Grande. 
Austin sent out Travis, with about fort}^ men, who over- 
took and captured the horses and brought them into the 
Texan camp. Tired of the inactive life around the city, 
many of the Texans had gone home, so that by this time 
there were only about six hundred men in camp. 

On the 26th of November, Cos sent out a party of men to 
cut grass for his horses. As this party was returning to 
the city, they were discovered by the Texans ; and a hun- 
dred men, rallying under Bowie, dashed forward to give 
them battle. Others followed. Simultaneously with the 
march of the Texans, a company, with two pieces of 
artillery, started from the city and a running fight took 
place, in which the Mexicans were reported to have lost 
fifty killed and several wounded. Two days after this 
*' Grass Fight," General Austin resigned the command of 
the army to fulfill his mission to the United States ; and 
was succeeded by Edward Burleson, chosen by the volun- 
teers in his stead. 

What we have denominated the " Executive Council," is, 
in the ordinance creating it, called " General' Council," and 
Kennedy calls it a " Legislative Council." The third 
article of the ordinance declares that " the duties of the 
General Council shall be to devise ways and means ; to 
advise and assist the Governor in the discharge of his func 
tions. They shall pass no laws except such as, in their 
opinion, the emergency of the country requires," etc. This 
exception invested them with unlimited power; pro- 
"sdded an emergency demanded the exercise of such j^ower. 
Among the first doings of this body, was the establishment 
of a General Post-ofiice, and a tariff of duties on imported 
merchandise. Six ports of entry were created, Sabine, Gal- 



LOAN NEGOTIATED. 217 

veston, Brazos, Matagorda, Lavaca and Copano. They 
estimated the annual cotton crop at 60,000 bales, and fixed 
the export duty at one and a quarter cent a pound ; and a 
tonnage duty, which, they supposed would amount to about 
as much more. They levied a duty on imports of from fif- 
teen to thirty per cejitum. Had there been no interruption 
of trade, and no extraordinary expenses, the sums derived 
from export and imj^ort duties, and that on tonnage, would 
have gone far toward supporting the expense of administer- 
ing the government. But this was prospective ; and, to 
meet the present necessities, Messrs. Austin, Archer and 
Wharton, the Commissioners to the United States, were 
■emjDowered to negotiate a loan of $1,000,000, in bonds of 
^1.000 each. 

A law of the Legislature of 1834, had provided for the 
aj)pointment of a first and second judge for each munici- 
j)ality, but as none had been ajDpointed, the Council 
proceeded to do so, on the 16th of JN'ovember. The courts 
were directed to proceed under the provision of the common 
law of England. * ^ 

The commander-in-chief was authorized to acce23t the 
services of 5,000 volunteers, and 1,200 regulars. During 



* The following judges were appointed : Viesca, (Milam,) Joseph L. 
Hood and John Martin ; Liberty, William Hardin and Henry W. Farley ; 
Brazoria, L. C. Munson and Eobert Mills; Washington, James Hall and 
HughMcGafiin; Gonzales, Andrew Ponton and Charles Lockhart; Mina, 
(Bastrop,) Sinclar Gervis and Thomas Kinney ; Nacogdoches, John Forbes 
and Kadford Berry ; Sau Augustine, John G. Love and W. N. Siglier ; Har- 
risburg, T. H. League and Nathaniel Lynch ; Bevil, (Jasper,) George W, 
Smyth and Joseph Mott ; Tenahaw, (Shelby,) Emory Rains and James Ens- 
lish; Jeffei'son, Chichester Chaplain and William T. Hatton; Victoria, 
Placido Benevedes and Francisco Cardinas; Goliad, Ene Vasques and 
Robert Galon; Bexar, John N. Seguin and Miguel Arceufega; Refugio, 
Martin Power and Martin Lawler; Austin, George Ewiugaud Gail Borden; 
Matagorda, Charles Wilson and Thomas Duke. 



218 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the months of November and December the Council elected 
a full corps of officers. * 

* For the regulars, the Council elected one Majoi'-General, one Adjutant- 
General, two Colonels, three Lieutenant-Colonels, three Majors, one Second 
Major, twenty-six Captains, fifty-six Lieutenants. For the volunteers, 
one Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel, one Major, two Captains, and two 
Lieutenants. But without being too specific — including all arms of the 
service ; infantry, cavalry, artillery, and rangers, there were one hundred 
and fifteen oflScei's — not Including Major-General Chambers and his staff 
of reserves. But few of those actually in the army were elected. On the 
day of the attack on San Antonio', Sublett was elected Colonel over Burle- 
son ; and Johnson, the commander at San Antonio, was afterward elected 
Major, to fill a vacancy. Notwithstanding this formidable array of oflBlcers, 
the ranks filled up but slowly. A report presented to the Convention, 
March 10, 1836, stated that there were at Goliad 30 infantry — pi-ivates ; 
and 30 cavalry at Bexar. Besides these. Captain Turner had reported with 
a, company of 56 meu; and Captain Teel with forty men. 



CHAPTER III. 



A NAVY TTVTPROVISED^SAN ANTONIO INVESTED — CAPTURED BY THE TEXANS— 
LIBERAL TERMS TO THE VANQUISHED — BREACH BETWEEN GOVERNOR SMITH AND 
HIS COUNCIL— AUSTIN'S TIMELY ADVICE— CONVENTION OF 1836 DECLARES THE 
INDEPENDENCE OP TEXAS — GOVERNMENT AD INTERIM — PROPOSED DESCENT UPON 
MATAMORAS. 



C) 



ROVISIOIS' was also made for the oro:anization of a 



&' 



-*- navy. Two vessels, the William Robbins and the 
Invincible, were purchased of Messrs. M'Kinney and Wil- 
liams, of Quintana. The Mexicans had two vessels of war 
threatening the Texas coast : the Bravo and the Monte- 
zuma. These vessels greatly interrupted trade. During 
the month of November, Messrs. Peter Kerr, J. M. Carrav- 
ajal and Fernando DeLeon, of Victoria, started from New 
Orleans with goods, including some ammunition for the 
Government at San Felipe. The vessel was captured by 
the Bravo and run on the beach, near Pass Cavallo. The 
Bravo was afterward driven off by a norther, when Cap- 
tain Hurd, of the William Robbins, took possession of the 
vessel and turned her over to Captain S. Rhodes Fisher, 
with a crew from Matagorda. The Matagorda crew 
claimed salvage on the vessel, and this produced some dis- 
cussion in the Council. "Governor Smith," says Yoakum, 
" being duly advised of these proceedings, took occasion in 
a special message to reprehend them severely." 

On the 6th of November, 1835, General Mexia, who had 
before figured as a Republican leader in Mexico and Texas, 
sailed from New Orleans, with Commodore Hawkins, in 
the schooner Mary Jane, with about one hundred and 
thirty men, for the capture of Tampico. The men were 
deceived, and until they were on the coast in sight of 
Tampico, most of them suj)j)osed they were sailing for 



220 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Texas. The expedition was unfortunate. Twenty-eight of 
them were captured; condemned by a drum-head court 
martial, and shot. (See Mexia.) 

We will now return to the army under General Burleson, 
encamped before San Antonio. The men were but poorly 
provided to maintain a siege. Many had gone home, though 
others were constantly arriving. Still, the number had 
fallen off nearly one half. At one time there were about 
fourteen hundred men in camps, though all were not regu- 
larly organized into military comj)anies. There were, on the 
first of December, six hundred in the ranks of General 
Burleson ; while Cos had a much larger force in the city, 
occupying a strongly fortified position, and was daily 
exj^ecting 500 additional troops under General Ugartechea. 
These troops arrived in time to participate in the defence of 
the city. Cos had put the place in a thorough state for 
defence. The old fortress of the Alamo, on the east side of 
the river, had been repaired, and fortified with cannon. The 
main plaza, on the west side of the river, was also fortified. 
The streets entering it were barricaded and protected with 
artillery. The narrow streets, lined with stone and adobe 
houses, afforded ample shelter, and admirable positions for its 
Mexican defenders. Under these circumstances, many of 
Burleson's officers were in favor of abandoning the siege. 
On the 2d of December, a council of war was held at the Tex- 
an headquarters, at which an assault was determined upon. 
" With this view," says Burnet, " the army was paraded, and 
after a stirring address from Colonel William H. Jack, a 
call was made for volunteers. Four hundred and fifty men^ 
including the Xew Orleans Grays, advanced to the front 
and enrolled their names.* It was decided to make the 



* There -were two companies of the New Orleans Grays — R. C. Norris 

was major, and William G. Cooke and Breese were captains. They 

were raised in New Orleans by Col. Christy and Adolphus Sterne. Among- 
the men were Thomas William Ward, Martin K. Snell, Thomas S. Lubbock, 
Henry S. Fi>her, William L. Hunter, Johh D. McLeod, and others, less 
distinguished in our history. See map of Texas, 1834. 



CAPTURE OF SAX ANTONIO. 221 

attack the next morning, December 3d, in three divisions. 
The old mill a half mile above the town was to be the place 
of rendezvous, from which the assailants were to advance 
along three parallel streets, entering the plaza from the 
ncrth — riores, Acequia and Soledad. Colonel J. C. Neil 
was directed to make a ruse^ by opening fire on the Alamo, 
with artillery. During the ensuing night, the scouts 
reported that a man had been seen going from the camp to 
the town. This induced a suspicion that the enemy had 
been apprised of the intended assault. Many now regarded 
the project as utterly hopeless, and threatened to leave unless 
it was abandoned. Under these circumstances. Colonel Bur- 
leson contermanded the order for the assault, and thought 
of falling back on Groliad. On the same evening three 
citizens, Messrs. Maverick, Holmes and J. W. Smith, who 
had been held in duress in the town, were released by Gen- 
eral Cos and arrived in camp. They gave minute and 
encouraging information relative to the garrison, their 
defences and police. On the next day, Colonel Milam 
suo-o-ested to Burleson, to seize the new enthusiasm excited 
by these representations, and storm the place without 
delay. Burleson gave a cheerful assent, and authorized 
Milam to set about the daring enterprise. Milam promptly 
stepped forward in front of Burleson's tent, waved his hat 
with a joyous ringing hitzzah, and announced that he was 
ffoino; into San Antonio, and called for A^olunteers to go with 
him. The response was direct and cordial, and upwards of 
four hundred men formed in line, and enrolled their names. 
The residue agreed to remain and give an outside support, 
which was indispensable. As before agreed upon, the old 
mill was the place of rendezvous ; and 2 o'clock a. m., the 
hour of meeting ; while Colonel Neil was to make a feint 
upon the Alamo, on the east side of the river. At the 
appointed time, only three hundred men were on hand ; with 
two field pieces, a twelve and a six-pounder. In consequence 
of the diminished numbers, the assailants formed in only 
two divisions, entering Acequia and Soledad streets. 



222 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

We cannot do better than to give our readers the official 
rej^orts of General Burleson and Colonel Johnson, of the 
capture of the city, and the surrender of General Cos : 

Head-Quarters, Volunteer Army, 
Bexar, December 1-i, 1835. 
To HIS Excellency, the Provisional Governor of Texas : 

Sir: I have the satislaction to inclose a copy of Colonel Johnson's 
account of the storming and surrender of San Antonio de Bexar, to which 
I have little to add that can in any way increase the lustre of this brilliant 
achievement to the federal arms of tlie volunteer army under my com- 
mand; and which will, I trust, prove the downfall of the last position of 
military despotism on our soil of freedom. 

At three o'clock on the morning of the 5th instant. Colonel Niel, with a 
piece of artillery, protected by Captain Eoberts and his company, was sent 
across the river to attack, at five o'clock, the Alamo, on the north side, to 
draw the attention of the enemy from the advance of the divisions which 
had to attack the suburbs of the town, under Colonels Milam and John- 
son. This service was effected to my entire satisfaction; and the party 
returned to camp at niue o'clock a. m. 

On the advance of the attacking divisions, I formed all the reserve, with 
the exception of the guai-d necessary to protect the camp, at the old mill 
position, and held myself in readiness to advance, in case of necessity, to 
assist when required ; and shortly afterwards passed into the suburbs to 
reconnoiter, where I found all going on prosperously, and I'etired with the 
reserve to the camp. Several parties were sent out mounted, under Cap- 
tains Cheshire, Coleman and Eoberts, to scour the country and endeavor to 
intercept Ugartechea, who was expected, and ultimately forced an entry, 
with reinforcements for General Cos. Captains Cheshire, Sutherland and 
Lewis, with their companies, were sent in as reinforcements to Colonel 
Johnson, during the period of attack; and Captains Splann and Ruth and 
Lieutenant Borden, with their companies, together with Lieutenant- 
Colonels Somerville and Sublett, were kept in readiness for further assist- 
ance^ if required. On the evening of the 8th, a party from the Alamo, of 
about fifty men, passed up in front of our camp and opened a brisk tire, but 
without effect. They were soon obliged to retire precipitately, by opening 
a six-pounder on them, connnanded by Captain Hunnings, by sending a 
party across the river, and by the advance of Captain Bradley's company, 
who were stationed above. 

On the morning of the 9th, in consequence of advice from Colonel John- 
son, of a flag of truce having been sent in, to intimate a desire to capitulate, 
I proceeded to town, and by two o'clock a.m., of the lOtli, a treaty was 
finally concluded by the commissioners appointed, to which I acceded 
immediately, deeming the terms highly favorable, considering the strong 
position and large force of the enemy, which could not be less than thirteen 
hundred eftective men — one thousand one hundred and five having left 
this morning with General Cos, besides three companies and several small 



OFFICIAL REPORTS. 225 

parties which separated from him in consequence of the fourth article of 
the treaty. 

In addition to a copy of the treaty (marlved No. 1) I inclose a list (No. 
2) of all the valuable property ceded to us by virtue of the capitulation. 

General Cos left this morning for the mission of San Jose, and to-morrow 
commences his march to the Rio Grande, after complying with all that 
had been stipulated. 

I can not conclude this dispatch without expressing, in the warmest 
terms, my entire approbation of every officer and soldier in the army, and 
particularly those who so gallantly volunteered to storm the town, which I 
have the honor to command, and to say that their bravery and zeal on the 
present occasion merit the warmest eulogies which [ can confer, and 
the gratitude of their country. The gallant leader of the storming party. 
Colonel Benjamin R. Milam, fell gloriously on the third day, and his 
memory will be dear to Texas as long as there exists a grateful heart to 
feel, or a friend of liberty to lament his worth. His place was most ably 
filled by Colonel F. W. Johnson, Adjutant-General of the army, whose 
coolness and prudence, united with daring bravery, could alone have 
brought matters to so successful an end, with so very small a loss, against 
so superior a force, and such strong fortifications. To his shining merits 
on this occasion I bore ocular testimony during the five days' action . 

I have also to contribute my praise to Major Bennet, Quartermaster- 
General, for the diligence and success with which he supplied both armies 
during the siege and storm. 

These dispatches, with a list of killed and wounded, will be handed to 
your Excellency by my first aid-de-camp, Colonel William T. Austin, who 
was present as a volunteer during the five days' storm, and whose con- 
duct on this and every other occasion merits my warmest praise. 

To-morrow I leave the garrison and town under command of Colonel 
Johnson, with a sufficient number of men and officers to sustain the same, 
in case of attack, until assisted from the colonies; so that your Excellency 
may consider our conquest as sufficiently secured against every attempt of 
the enemy. The rest of the army will retire to their homes. 

I have the honor to be your Excellency's obedient servant, 

EDWARD BURLESON, 
Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army. 

Gen. Burleson, Commandek-in-Chief op the Federal Volunteer Army 
OF Texas : 

Sir: I have the honor to acquaint you, that on the morning of the 5th 
instant, the volunteers for storming the city of Bexar, possessed by the 
troops of General Cos, entered the suburbs in two divisions, under the 
•command of Colonel Benjamin R. Milam — the first division, under his 
immediate command, aided by Major R. C. Morris, and the second, under 
my command, aided by Colonels Grant and Austin, and AdjutantBristow. 

The first division, consisting of tiie companies of Captains York, Patton, 
Llewellyn, Crane, English and Landruni, with two picc(!^ and lil'tepn fuvtil- 
lerymen, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Franks, took possession of Che 



226 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

house of Don Antonio de la Garza. The second division, composed of the 
companies of Captains Cooke, Swisher, Edwards, Alley, Duncan, Peacock, 
Breece and Placido Benavidos, took possession of the house of Berrimendi. 
The last division was exposed for a short time to a very heavy fire of yrape 
and musketry from the whole of the enemy's line of fortification, until the 
guns of the first division opened their fire, when the enemy's attention was 
directed to both divisions. At 7 o'clock a heavy cannonading from the 
town was seconded by a well-directed fire from the Alamo, which for a 
time prevented the possibility of covering our lines, or effecting a sale 
communication between the two divisions. In consequence of the twelve- 
pounder having been dismounted, and the want of proper cover for the 
other gun, little execution was done by our artillery during the day. We 
were, therefore, reduced to a close and well directed fire from our rifles, 
which, notwithstanding the advantageous position of the enemy, obliged, 
them to slacken their fire, and several times to abandon their artillery 
within the range of our shot. Our loss during this day was one private 
killed, one Colonel and one First-Lieutenant severely wounded ; one Colonel 
slightly, three privates dangerously, six severely, and three slightly. 
During the whole of the night the two divisions were occupied in strength- 
ening their positions, opening trenches, and eflectinga safe communicaiion, 
although exposed to a heavy cross fire from the enemy, which slacKcned. 
toward morning. I may I'emark that the want of proper tools rendered 
this undertaking doubly arduous, At daylight of the 6th, the enemy were 
observed to have occupied the tops of the houses in our front, where,, 
under the cover of breastworks, they opened through loop holes a very 
brisk fire of small-arms on our whole line, followed by a steady cannonading 
from the town, in front, and the Alamo on the left flank, with few inter- 
ruptions during the day. A detachment of Captain Crane's company, 
under Lieutenant AV. McDonald, followed by othei-s, gallantly possessed 
themselves, under a severe fire, of the house to the right, and in advance 
of the first division, which considerably extended our line; while th6 rest 
of the army was occupied in returning the enemy's fire and strengthening 
our trenches, which enabled our artillery to do some execution, and com- 
plete a safe communication from right to left. 

Our loss this day amounted to three privates severely wounded, and two- 
slightly. During the night the fire from the enemy was inconsiderable, 
and our people were occupied in making and filling sand-bags, and other- 
wise strengthening our lines. At daylight on the 7th, it was discovered 
that the enemy had, during the night previous, opened a trench on the 
Ahuno side of the river, and on the left flank, as well as strengthening 
their battery on the cross street leading to the Alamo. From the first they 
opojied a brisk fire of small-arms; from the last a heavy cannonade, as 
well as small-arms, which was kept up until eleven o'clock, when they 
were silenced by our superior fire. About twelve o'clock, Henry Cams, 
of (Captain York's company, exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy, 
gallantly advanced to a house in front of the first division, and with a 
crowbar forced an entrance, into which the whole of the company imme- 
diatelv followed him, and made a secure lodgment. In the evening, th& 



CAPTURE OF SAN ANTONIO. 227 

enemy renewed a heavy fire from all the positions which could bear upon 
us; and at halt-past three o'clock, as our gallant commander, Colonel 
Milam, was passing into the yard of my position, he received a rifle-shot in 
the head, which caused his instant death ; an irreparable loss at so critical a. 
moment. Our casualties, otherwise, were only two privates slightly 
wounded. 

At a meeting of otficers, held at seven o'clock, I was invested with the 
chief command, and Major Morris as my second. At ten o'clock p. m., Cap- 
tains Llewellyn, English, Crane andLandrum, with their respective compa- 
nies, forced their way into and took possession of the house of Don J. 
Antonio Navarro, an advanced and important position close to the square. 
The fire of the enemy was interrupted and slack during the night, and Lhe 
weather exceedingly cold and wet. 

The morning of the 8th continued cold and wet, and but little firing on 
either side. At nine o'clock the same companies who took possession of 
Don J. Antonio Navarro's house, aided by a detachment of the Greys, ad- 
vanced and occupied Zarabrano's Row, leading to the square, without any 
accident. The brave conduct, on this occasion, of AYiiliam Graham, of 
Cooke's company of Greys, merits mention. A heavy fire of artillery and 
small arms was opened on this position by the enemy, who disputed every 
inch of ground, and, after suffering a severe loss in officers and men, were 
obliged to retire from room to room, until last they evacuated the whole 
house. During this time our men were reinforced by a detachment from 
York's company, under command of Lieutenant Gill. 

The cannonading from the camp was exceedingly heavy from all quarters 
during the day, but did no essential damage. 

Our loss consisted of one captain seriously wounded, and two privates 
severely. At seven o'clock r. m., the party in Zambrano's Row were re- 
inforced by Captains Swisher, Alley, Edwards and Duncan, and their 
respective companies. 

This evening we had undoubted information of the arrival of a strong 
reinforcement to the enemy, under Colonel Ugartechea. At 10^ o'clock p. 
M., Captains Cooke and Patton, with the company of New Orleans Greys 
and a company of Brazoria volunteers, forced their way into the priest's 
house in the square, although exposed to the fire of a battery of three guns 
and a large body of musketeers. 

Before this, however, the division was reinforced from the reserve by 
Captains Cheshire, Lewis and Sutherland, with their companies. 

Immediately after we got possession of the priest's house, the enemy 
opened a furious cannonade from all their batteries, accompanied by inces- 
sant volleys of small arms, against every house in our possession and every 
part of our lines, which continued unceasingly until 6^ o'clock a. m., of the 
8tli, when they sent a flag of truce, with an intimation that they desired to 
capitulate. Commissioners were immediately named by both parties, and 
herewith I accompany you a copy of the terms agreed upon. 

Our loss in this night-attack consisted in one man only — Belden, of the 
Greys, dangerously wounded while in the act of spiking a cannon. 

To attempt to give you a faint idea of the intrepid conduct of the gallant 



228 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

citizens who formed the division under my command, during the whole 
period of attack, would be a task of no common nature, and far above the 
power of my pen. All behaved with the bravery peculiar to freemen, and 
with a decision becoming the sacred cause of Liberty. 

To signalize every individual act of gallantry, where no individual was 
found wanting to himself or to his country, would be a useless and endless 
effort. Every man has merited my warmest approbation, and deserves his 
country's gratitude. 

The memory of Colonel B. R. Milam, the leader of this daring and suc- 
cessful attack, deserves to be cherished by every patriotic bosom in Texas. 

I feel indebted to the able assistance of Colonel Grant, (severely wounded 
the first day,) Colonel Austin, Majors Morris and Moore, Adjutant Bristow, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Franks, of the artillery, and every captain — names 
already given — who entered with either division, from the moruing of the 
5th until the day of capitulation. 

Dr. Cameron's conduct, during the siege and treaty of capitulation, mer- 
its particular mention. The guides, Erastus Smith, Noi'wich, Ai*nold and 
John W. Smith, performed important service ; and I cannot conclude with- 
out expressing my thanks to the reserve under your command for such 
assistance as could be afforded me during our most critical movements. 

The period put to our present war by the fall of San Antonio de Bexar 
will, I trust, be attended with all the happy results to Texas which hei 
warmest friends could desire. 

I have the honor to subscribe myself your most obedient servant, 

F. W. JOHNSTON, Col. Com'g. 

A true copy from the original. 

William T. Austin, Aid-de-Camp. 

CAPITULATION ENTERED INTO BY GENERAL MARTIN PERFECTO DE COS, OF THE 
PERMANENT TROOPS, AND GENERAL EDWARD BURLESON, OF THE COLONIAL 
TROOPS OF TEXAS. 

Being desirous of preventing the further effusion of blood and the ravages 
of civil war, have agreed on the following stipulations: 

1st. That General Cos and his officers retire with their arms and private 
property into the interior of the republic under parole of honor; and that 
they will not in any way oppose the re-establishment of the federal constitu- 
tion of 182-i. • 

2d. That the one hundred infintry lately arrived with the convicts, the 
remnant of the battalion of Morelos, and the cavalry, retire with the Gen- 
eral, taking their arms, and ten rounds of cartridges for their muskets. 

3d. That the General take the convicts brought iu by Colonel Ugartechea 
beyond the Kio Grande. 

4th. That it is discretionary with the troops to follow their General, 
remain, or go to such point as they may deem proper; but iu case they 
should all or any of them separate, they are to have their arms, etc. 

5th. That all the public property, money, arms, and munitions of war, be 
inventoried and delivered to General Burleson. 

6th. That all private property be restored to its proper owners. 



CAPITULATION ENTERED INTO. 229 

7th. That three officers of each army be appointed to make out the inven- 
tory and see that the terms of capitulation be carried into effect. 

8th. That three officers on the part of General Cos remain for the purpose 
of delivering over the said property, stores, etc. 

9th. That General Cos with his force, for the present, occupy the Alamo, 
and General Burleson with his force occupy the town of Bexar, and that 
the soldiers of neither party pass to the other, armed. 

10th. General Cos shall, within six days from the date hereof, remove liis 
force from the garrison he now occupies. 

11th. In addition to the arras before mentioned. General Cos shall be per- 
mitted to take with his force a 4-pounder and ten pounds of powder aud 
ball. 

12th, The officers appointed to make the inventory and delivery of the 
stores, etc., shall enter upon the duties to which they have been appointed 
forthwith. 

13th. The citizens shall be protected in their persons and property. 

14:th. General Burleson will furnish General Cos with such provisions as 
can be obtained, necessary for his troops to the Rio Grande, at the ordinary 
price of the country. 

loth. The sick and wounded of General Cos' army, together with a sur- 
geon and attendants, are permitted to remain. 

16th. No person, either citizen or soldier, to be molested on account of 
his political opinions hitherto expressed. 

17th. That duplicates of this capitulation be made out in Castillian and 
English, and signed by the commissioner appointed, aud ratified by the 
commanders of both Armies. 

18th. The prisoners of both armies, up to this day, shall be put at liberty. 

The commissionei's, Jose Juan Sanchez, Adjutant-Inspector; Don Ramon 
Musquiz, and Lieutenant Francisco Rada, and Interpreter Don Miguel 
Arciuiega, appointed by the Commandant and Inspector, General Martin 
Perfecto de Cos, in connection with Col. F. W. Johnston, Major R. C. 
Morris, and Captain J. C. Swisher, and Interpreter John Cameron, 
appointed on the part of General Edward Burleson, after a long and serious 
discussion, adopted the eighteen preceding articles, reserving their ratifica- 
tion by the Generals of both armies. 

In virtue of which, we have signed this instrument, in the city of Bexar, 
on the 11th of December, 1835. 

Jose Juan Sanchez, F. W. Johnson, 

Ramon Musquiz, Robert C. Morris, 

J. Francisco de Rada, James G. Swisher, 

Miguel Arcinega, Interpreter, John Cameron, Interpreter. 

I consent to, and will observe, the above article. 

MARTIN PERFECTO DE COS, 
Ratified and approved. 

EDWARD BURLESON, 

Commander-in-Chief Volunteer Army. 



230 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

While the army in the field was achieving this splendid 
triumph, the Council at San Felipe was engaged in legisla- 
tion. It was composed of thirteen members — too many for 
prompt executive action, and entirely too few for a legislative 
body. Its duties and powers w^ere not clearly defined, and 
it was soon manifest that it was composed of inharmonious 
materials. It is possible that Governor Smith was jealous 
of his prerogatives, and that the Council infringed u23on his 
legitimate authority. At any rate it beame evident that the 
Crovernor and his Council could not harmonize. On the 
10th of December, the Council passed a bill calling a Gen- 
eral Convention. Governor Smith vetoed it because it 
allowed the municipality of Bexar four delegates, and 
permitted all Mexicans to vote. The first objection was 
overruled, and the second obviated by declaring that all 
Americans might vote, and such Mexicans as were opposed 
to a centralized government. The election was ordered for 
February 1st, 1836. 

The breach between the Governor and the Council con- 
tinued to widen, and after a long and bitter personal con- 
troversy, finally, on the lltli of January, 1836, the Council, 
by a unanimous vote, deposed the Governor, preferred 
formal charges against him, and installed Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor Robinson. The Governor issued a proclamation 
dissolving the Council, and retained the Archives, and 
continued to exercise the functions of his office. General 
Houston and some other officers recognized Governor 
Smith, and the Council, which continued to hold its sessions, 
recognized Governor Robinson. A week after the deposi- 
tion of Governor Smith, the Council failed for want of a 
quorum. On the 8th of February a quorum was present, 
and again on the 15th. On the 16th it adjourned to meet 
in the town of Washington, on the 22d of February, but a 
quorum never again met. 

While the Governor and his intractable Council were 
wrangling over questions of privilege and authority, the 



GENERAL AUSTIN'S COMMUNICATION. 231 

people were canvassing the great question of Texan inde- 
pendence. * 

On the last of T^ovember, Stephen F. Austin, having 
resigned the command of the army, reported to the Council 
at San Felipe, preparatory to starting to the United States 
as Commissioner. On the question of the relation of Texas 
to the Mexican government, General Austin said : 

<' It may be out of place to speak of myself in such a communication as 
this, but I deem it right to say that I have faithfully labored for ye.irs to 
unite Texas permanently to the Mexican Confederation, by separating its 
local government and internal administration, so far as practicable, from 
every other part of Mexico, and placing it in the hands of the people of 
Texas, who are certainly best acquainted with their local wants, and could 
best harmonize in legislation for them. There was but one way to effect 
this union, with any hope of permanency or harmony, which was by erect- 
ing Texas into a State of the Mexican Confederation. Sound policy, and 
the true interest of the Mexican Republic, evidently required that this 
should be done. 

" The people of Texas desired it; and if proofs were wanting (but they 
are not) of their fidelity to their obligation as Mexican citizens, this effort 
to erect Texas into a State affords one which is conclusive to every man of 
judgment who knows anything about this country; for all such are con- 
vinced that Texas could not, and would not, remain united to Mexico with- 
out the right of self-government as a separate State." 

In another portion of his communication, Austin says: 

" At the time of the former elections, the people did not, and could not, 
fully understand their true situation ; for it was not known then, to a cer- 
tainty, what changes would take place in Mexico; what kind of government 
would be established ; or what course would be pursued towards Texas. It 
was only known then that the Central party was in power; that all its 
measures tended to the destruction of the Federal system, and that prepa- 
rations were making to invade Texas. 

"But, at the present time, the people know that the government is 
changed— that Centralism is established by the decree of the 'Sd of October 
last, and that they are threatened with annihilation. In short, the whole 

*A8 early as July 19th, 1835, a meeting of citizens was held on the Navidad, 
in Jackson County, James Kerr, Chairman, and Samuel Rogers, Secretary, 
which declared for independence. And on the 20th of December, the 
troops, under Captain Dimmit, and the citizens of Goliad, passed similar 
resolutions, and the people in the different portions of the province 
•expressed their acquiescence. 



232 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

picture is now clearly before their view, and they see the dangers that are 
hanging over them. Can these dangers be averted by a provisional organ- 
ization, which is based upon a declaration that is equivocal, liable to difier- 
ent constructions? Does not the situation of the country require a more 
fixed and stable state of things? In short, is it not necessary that Texas 
should now say in plain, and positive, and unequivocal language, what is 
the position she occupies, and will occupy ; and can such a declaration be 
made without a new and direct resort to the people, by calling, as speedily 
as possible, a convention, with plenary power, based upon the principle of 
equal representation, in proportion to the population? 

" These are questions of the most vital importance. I respectfully sub- 
mit them to the calm deliberation of the Provisional Government, in the 
full confidence that all the attention will be given to the subject which its 
importance demands. 

" Without expressing any individual opinion of my own, as to the time 
or day when the new election ought to take place, wliich would, perhaps, 
be indecorous in such a communication as this; the object of which is to 
lay the facts before the Provisional Government, I deem it my duty to say, 
that so far as I could judge of the opinions and wishes of the citizens Who 
were in the volunteer army when I left them on the 25th ult., they were in 
favor of an immediate election of a Convention with plenary power." 

In the above report, General Austin used very cautious 
language, and though he declared for a Convention with 
plenary powers, he did not explicitly commit himself to a 
declaration of independence. He, perhaps, then thought 
such a declaration premature. But after his arrival in New 
Orleans, he received additional information from Mexico, 
and found that, in order to secure the loan so necessary for 
Texas, a declaration of independence must be immediately 
put forth. And he accordingly wrote to the Provisional 
Government, advocating such a declaration. 

The general election was held on the 1st of February, 
1836, and the Convention met on the 1st of March, 1836. 
Its official journal opens thus: "Convention of all the 
people of Texas, through their delegates elect." 

On motion of Mr. Geo. C. Childress, Mr. James Collings- 
worth, of Brazoria, was called to the chair, and Wm. A. 
Faris appointed secretary /r^ tern. After the roll of mem- 
bers was completed, on motion of Mr. Robert Potter, the 
Convention proceeded to elect a president, when Stephen 




KUINS OF THE SAN JOSE MISSION. 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 235 

H. Everitt, of Jasper, nominated Richard Ellis, of Red 
River, who was unanimously elected. H. S. Kimble was 
elected secretary ; E. M. Pease, assistant secretary ; Iram 
Palmer, sergeant at arms ; John A. Hizer, doorkeeper, and 
M. Saul, engrossing clerk. 

Mr. George C. Childress offered the following : 

Resolved, That the president appoint a committee, to consist of five dele- 
gates, to draft a Declaration of Independence. 

Adopted. Whereupon the president appointed as the 
committee, Mr. Geo. C. Childress, of Collin, James Gaines, 
of Sabine, Edward Conrad, of Refugio, Collin McKinney, 
of Red River, and Bailey Hardeman, of Matagorda. 

On the second day, March 2d, Mr. Robert Potter 
moved the appointment of a committee of one from each 
municipality, to draft a constitution for the (contemplated) 
Republic of Texas, which was carried, and Messrs. Martin 
Parmer, chairman , Robert Potter, Chas. B. Stewart, Edwin 
Waller, Jesse Grimes, Robert M. Coleman, John Fisher, 
John W. Bunton, James Gaines, Lorenzo de Zavala, 
Stephen H. Everitt, Bailey Hardeman, Elijah Stapp, Wil- 
liam C. Crawford, Claiborne West, James Power, Jose 
Antonio Navarro, Collin McKinney, William Menifee, 
William Motley and Michael B. Menard were appointed 
the committee. 

On the same day, March 2d, Mr. Childress, chairman of 
the committee, reported the draft of a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. , Mr. Houston moved that the report be received 
by the Convention, which was done. Gen. Sam Houston 
introduced the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the Declaration of Independence, reported by the commit- ^ 
tee, be adopted, that the same be engrossed and signed by the delegates of 
this Convention. 

And the question being put, the resolution was unan- 
imously adopted. 
15 



236 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

After the Declaration of Independence, the Convention* 
was engaged until the 15th in j^reparing the Constitution. 
On the 17th of March the Constitution was adopted, and 
a Government, ad interi7n^ inaugurated, with David G. 
Burnet, President ; Lorenzo De Zavalla, Vice-President, 
and Sam Houston, Commander-in-Chief of the army in the 
field. The news of the stirring events in the west, prob- 
ably hastened the adjournment of the Convention ; and 
soon afterward the President and his Cabinet removed 
from Washington to Harrisburg.f 

* The Convention was composed of the following members : 
Municipality of Austin — Charles B. Stewart and Thomas Barnett; of 
Brazoria — James Collingsworth, Edwin "Waller, Asa Brigham and J. S. D. 
Byrom; q/" -Beo-Y/?* — Francis Ruis, J. Antonio Navarro, Jesse B. Badgett 
and William Motley ; of CoZor«^o— William Menifee and William D. Lacey ; 
of Go7izales—John Fisher and Matthew Caldwell ; of Nacogdoches — John 
S. Roberts, Robert Potter, Charles S. Taylor and Thomas J. Rusk; oj 
Hefagio — James Power and Sam Houston; of Shelby — Martin Parmer and 
Sidney O. Pennington; of Sabine — James Gaines and William Clark, Jr. ; 
of Harrisburg — Loi'enzo de Zavala and Andrew Briscoe; of Jasper — 
George W. Smyth and S. H. Everett; of Jackson — Elijah Stapp; ofjeffer^ 
son — Claiborne West and William B. Scates ; of Liberty — M. B. Menard, A. 
B. Harden and J. B. Wood; of Bastrop — John W. Bunton, Thomas J. 
Gazley and Robert M. Coleman; of Milam — Sterling C.Robertson and 
George C. Childress; of Matagorda — Bailey Hardeman and S. Rhodes 
Fisher; of San Patricio — John Turner and John W. Bower; of Washing- 
ton — Benjamin B. Goodrich, James G. Swisher, George W. Barnett and 
Jesse Grimes; of San Augustine — E. O. Legrand and Stephen W. Blount; 
of lied River — Robert Hamilton, Collin McKinney, A. H. Latimer, Samuel 
P. Carson, Richard Ellis and William C. Crawford; of Goliad — David 
Thomas and Edward Conrad. 

fThe following were the principal oflSLcers in President Burnet's Cabinet, 
appointed at the organization of the Government: Samuel P. Carson, 
Secretary of State; Tiiomas J. Rusk, Secretary of War; Bailey Harde- 
man, Secretary of the Treasury; Robert Potter Secretary of the Nuvy; 
David Thomas, Attorney-General. During this Government, which con- 
tinued until the 22d of October, 1836, there were many changes, and the 
following named persons were, for a time, members of the Cabinet, viz: — 
James Collingsworth and Wm. H. J:ick, Secretaries of State ; M. B. Lamar, 
F. A= Sawyer, A. Somervell ami Jolin A. Wharton, Secretaries of AVar; 
Peter W. Grayson, Attorney-General ; Bernard E. Bee, Secretary of the 
Treasury ; John R. Jones, Post-Master General. The following persons 
were also in oflSce under the Government ad interim: — Asa Brigham, 
Auditor; H. C. Hudson, Comptroller; Benjamin C Franklin, Judge for 
the District of Brazos. 



MILITARY OPERATIONS. 237 

We will now return to military operations. After the 
capture of San Antonio, many of the soldiers in Burleson's 
•command, especially the Texans, returned to their homes. 
Others, encouraged by the success of the first essay at 
arms, were anxious for other enterprises. Captain Dim- 
mit, at Groliad, was, perhaps, the first to suggest the cap- 
ture of Matamoras, on the right bank of the lower Rio 
Grande. This was cordially seconded by Colonel Grant, 
who had assisted in the capture of San Antonio, and who 
had large landed possessions in Coahuila, and was a mem- 
ber of the Legislature dispersed by Cos. Johnson, Fannin 
and many others, were ready to enlist in the projected enter- 
prise. The Executive Council, acting independently of the 
Governor, authorized Fannin to act as agent in getting uj) and 
commanding a force for the capture of Matamoras ; and, 
at the same time gave similar authority to Johnson and 
Grant, and for the same purjDose. Not to be outdone in 
such a movement, Governor Smith ordered General Hous- 
ton to establish his headquarters in the west, and prej^are 
for a descent upon the same place. Grant and Johnson en- 
listed many of the men who had come with the JN'ew Or- 
leans Grays, and with such horses and munitions of war 
as could be collected around San Antonio, started for the 
south-west. They found Fannin in command at Goliad, 
and proceeded to the Nueces river, and Grant, with a party, 
went still further, to secure horses for Fannin's command. 
When Houston reached Goliad and learned of the oro-ani- 
zation of these independent expeditions, he gave up all 
pretensions to the command, and was elected a member of 
the Convention from Refugio. Dimmit, at Houston's sug- 
gestion, retired to Victoria. Neil, who succeeded Johnson 
at San Antonio, had left that place in command of W^m, 
B. Travis. 



CHAPTER IV. 



AANTA anna's TEXAS PROGRAMME— FALL OF THE ALAMO, AND FATE OF ITS BRAVE 
GARRISON — URRKA IN THE SOUTH-WEST— DEATH OF GRANT, MORRIS, &C — WARD 
AND KING AT REFUGIO — GOLIAD EVACUATED— BATTLE (JF COLITA — THE FANNIN 
MASSACRE -REFLECTIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE CAMPAIGN. 



/^N the 11th of May, 1835, Santa Anna gained a decisive 
^^ victory over Governor Garcia, near Zacatecas, com- 
pleting the total destruction of the Republican party in 
Mexico. Texas was now the only State in which his au- 
thority was disputed ; and that able general immediately 
commenced his preparations for the subjugation of Texas. 
He proposed to send two columns into the province. Gen- 
eral Urrea was ordered to Matamoras, to take one division 
along the coast to Goliad, Victoria, &c., while the Presi- 
dent-General, himself with the main division, was to enter 
the province via Presidio, and thence to San Antonio, San 
Felipe, et cetera. Toward the last of January, 1836, Santa 
Anna reached Saltillo, and Guerrero, by the middle of 
February. From this place he wrote to Senior Tornel, 
Minister of War, giving the outlines of his programme in 
reference to Texas. It was " to drive from the province all 
who had taken part in the revolution, together with all the 
foreigners who lived near the sea coast, or the borders of 
the United States ; to remove far into the interior those 
who had not taken part in the war ; to vacate all lands 
and grants of land owned by non-residents ; to remove from 
Texas all who had come to the province, and were not en- 
tered as colonists under Mexican rules ; to divide among 
the officers and soldiers of the army the best lands, pro- 
vided they would occupy them ; to permit no Anglo- Amer- 



THE ALAMO AND ITS ARMAMENT. 239 

ican to settle in Texas ; to sell the remaining vacant lands 
at one dollar per acre, allowing those speaking the French 
language to purchase five million acres, those speaking 
English the same, and those speaking the Spanish without 
limit ; to satisfy the claims of civilized Indians ; to make 
the Texans pay the expense of the war ; and to liberate 
and to declare free the negroes introduced into the colony." 

To cut off from Texas the hope of aid from the United 
States, Tornel issued a general order to all commanders, to 
treat all foreigners (meaning volunteers from the United 
States), as pirates. This order was subsequently plead in 
justification of the massacre of the garrison of the Alamo, 
and of Fannin's men at Goliad. 

On the 22d of February, a portion of the invading army 
reached the Alazan creek, a little west of the city of San 
Antonio, when Colonel Travis, with 145 efi^ective men, re- 
tired to the fortress of the Alamo, on the East side of the 
river. 

The Alamo and its Armament. — The main chapel is 
75x62 feet ; walls of solid masonry, four feet thick and 
twenty-two and a half feet high : then roofless. It fronts 
to the west toward the city, one-half a mile distant. From 
the northwest corner a wall extended fifty feet to the con- 
vent building, now occupied by the Quartermaster's De- 
partment. The convent was a two-story building, with a 
flat roof 186x18 feet. From the northeast corner of the 
chapel a wall extended 186 feet north ; thence 102 feet west 
to the convent, inclosing the convent yard. From the 
southwest corner of the chapel a strongly built stockade 
extended 75 feet to a building called the prison. The 
prison was one story, 115x17 feet, and joined a part of the 
south wall of the main Alamo plaza, of which the convent 
formed a part of the east wall, and some low buildings, 
used as barracks, formed a part of the west wall. The 
main plaza, inclosed with walls, was 154x54 yards. The 
dififerent inclosures occupied between two and three acres ; 



240 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



ample accommodations for 1000 men. The outer walls 
were two and a half feet thick and eight feet high, though, 
as they were planned against the Indians, the fortress was 
destitute of salient and dominant points in case of a bom- 
bardment. A ditch, used for irrigation, passed immedi- 
ately in the rear of the church, another touched the north- 
west angle of the main square. 

Its Armament. — Three heavy guns were planted upon 
the walls of the church ; one pointed north, toward the old 
mill ; one west, toward the city, and one south, toward the 




L I ISI T m 

GROUND PLAN OF THE ALAMO. 



A. Chapel of tlie Fortress. 

B. Upper window. 

C. Front door of the Church. 

D. A wall 50 feet long, connectinj^ Church ^vith the long Bart-ack. E E. 

F. A low stone barrack, 114 feet long, and 17 wide. 

G, H, I and K. Rooms built against thd west barrier, and demolished 

with it. 

L. Barrier wall trom G to 8 feet high and 2^/ thick. 

M. Gate of tlie area. 

n n. Doors of liouses opening upon area. 

0. A wall from 5 to 6 feet high, and 2^4^ thick, ■\\iiich inclosed -a 
smaller area east of the long barrack and north of the church. 

P. An upper loom in the south-east angle of said barrack. 

Q. A breach in the north harrier. 

R. An intreneliment running from the south-west angle- of the chapel to 
the gate. 

S. Represents a f'orie cochere, or wide passage througlf the centre of the 
house F, withi)nt one roouj t\n eHch side. The dotted Hues repre- 
sent a projecting stockade which covered a four-gun battery in front 
of the outer do9r. * 

*\ 



SIEGE UE THE ALAMO. 241 

villao-e of Lavilleta. Two guns protected the stockade be- 
tween the church and the prison ; two protected the prison, 
and an eighteen-pounder was planted at the south-west 
ano-le of the main square. A twelve-pound carronade pro- 
tected the centre of the west wall, and an eight-pounder 
was planted upon the north-west angle. Two guns were 
planted on the north wall of the plaza ; in all fourteen in 
position. Over the church floated the flag of the Provis- 
ional Grovernment of Texas, the Mexican tri-color, with the 
numerals 1824 in place of the eagle in the white stripe. 

The Siege. — First day, February 23. Travis secured 
eighty bushels of corn and twenty or thirty beeves. About 
noon Santa Anna arrived in person, and sent a summons 
to the Texans to surrender. It was answered by a cannon 

shot. 

Second day. — Mexicans bombarded the fort without ef- 
fect. Travis sent out couriers to Goliad and to Washing- 
ino-ton for reinforcements. In his dispatches he said: "I 
shall never surrender or retreat." 

Third day. — Santa Anna removed his headquarters 
across the river, and made a personal reconnoissance. The 
Texans opened their batteries, killing two Mexicans and 
wounding six others. Late at night some of the Texans 
sallied out and burned some wooden buildings, behind 
which the Mexicans had taken a position. 

Fourth day. — The Mexicans made an unsuccessful at- 
tempt to cut off" the garrison from water. At night the 
Texans burned some buildings north of the walls. 

Sixth day.- — Travis sent out John N. Seguin and a corp- 
oral to hurry up reinforcements from Groliad. 

Eighth day, March 1st. — Thirty-two citizen soldiers of 
Gronzales entered the fort. In the afternoon a twelve-pound 
shot from the fort struck the house occupied by Santa 
Anna. 

Tenth day. — Colonel Bonham, who had been sent to Gro- 
liad for reinforcements,- re-entered the fortress. Travis 



242 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

dispatched a courier to the Convention. He wrote : " I am 
still here and well-to-do, with one hundred and forty-five 
men. I have held this place ten days against a force vari- 
ously estimated at from 1500 to 6000, and I shall continue 
to hold it till I get relief from my countrymen, or I will 
perish in its defense. We have had a shower of cannon 
balls continually falling among us the whole time, yet none 
of us have fallen. We have been miraculously preserved. 
* * We are completely surrounded by the enemy, 
who have batteries in Bexar, only 400 yards to the west ; 
one at Lavilleta, 300 yards south ; at the Powder House, 
1000 yards east by south ; on the ditch, 800 yards north- 
east, and at the old mill, 800 yards north." Travis now 
despaired of succor, and according to an account published 
in 1860 by a Mr. Rose, announced to his companions their 
desperate situation. After declaring his determination to 
sell his life as dearly as possible, and drawing a line with 
his sword, Travis exhorted all who were willing to fight 
with him to form on the line. With one exception, all fell 
into the ranks, and even Bowie, who was dying with the 
consumption, had his cot carried to the line. The man 
who declined to enter the ranks, that night made his es- 
cape. [This tale is incredible, since he reported large pools 
of blood in the ditch, close to the wall, when no Mexican 
had then approached within rifle shot.] 

.Eleventh day. — The Mexicans continued to bombard the 
fort. The Texans, being short of amnmnititm, seldom 
fired. In the evening Santa Anna called a council of offi- 
cers, and in spite of the remonstrance of some of his gen- 
erals, resolved to storm the fortress. His orders were pre- 
pared very carefully, and given with great minuteness. 
There were to be four columns of attack, led by his most 
experienced generals. Each column was supplied with 
axes, crowbars and scaling ladders. His entire cavalry 
force was paraded in the rear, to prevent the desertion of 
his own troops, and to intercept any Texans who might 
attempt to escape. 




STORMING OF THE ALAMO. 



THE FALL OF THE ALAMO. 245 

The Fall.— Sunday March 6. A little after midnight, 
the different divisions of the Mexican army silently march- 
ed to their assigned positions. At -four o'clock the bugle 
sounded, and the whole line advanced to the final assault. 
Santa Anna, with all the bands, was behind an adobe house, 
about 500 yards south of the church. The Texans were 
ready, and, according to Filisola, "poured upon the ad- 
vancing columns a shower of grape and musket and rifle 
balls." Twice the assailants reeled and fell back in dis- 
may. Rallied again by the heroic Castrellon (who fell at 
San Jacinto), they approached the walls the third time. 
We again quote from Filisola : " The columns of the west- 
ern and eastern attacks meeting with some difficulty in 
reaching the tops of small houses forming the wall of the 
fort, did, by a simultaneous movement, to the right and to 
the left, swing northward until the three columns formed 
one dense mass, which, under the guidance of their officers, 
finally succeeded in efifecting an entrance into the enclosed 
yard. About the same time the column on the south made 
a breach in the wall and captured one of the guns." This 
gun, the eighteen-pounder, was immediately turned upon 
the convent, to which some of the Texans had retreated. 
The carronade on the center of the west wall was still 
manned by the Texans, and did fearful execution upon the 
Mexicans who had ventured into the yard. But the feeble 
garrison could not long hold out against such overwhelm- 
ina: numbers. Travis fell early in the action, shot with a 
rifle ball in the head. After being shot he had sufficient 
strength to kill a Mexican who attempted to spear him. 
The bodies of most of the Texans were found in the build- 
ing, where a hand-to-hand fight took place. - The body of 
Crockett, however, was in the yard, with a number of 
Mexicans lying near him. Bowie was slain in his bed, 
thouo-h it is said he killed two or three of the Mexicans 
with his pistol as they broke into his room. The church 
was the last place entered by the foe. It had been agreed 



246 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

that when further resistance seemed useless, any surviving- 
Texan should bl(nv up the magazine. Major Evans was 
applying the torch when he was killed in time to prevent 
the ex2:>losion. It was reported that two or three Texans, 
found in a room, appealed in vain for quarter. The 
sacrifice was complete. Every soldier had fallen in defense* 
of the fort. 

Three non-combatanis were spared — a negro servant of 
Col. Travis, and Mrs. Alsbury and Mrs. Dickinson. Lieut- 
enant Dickinson, with a child on his back, leaped from an 
upper window in the east end of the church ; but their life- 
less bodies fell to the ground riddled with bullets. One 
hundred and eighty bodies of the Texans were collected 
together in a pile and partially burned. Well-informed 
Texans put the loss of the Mexicans at twice that number. 
The official report of the Mexican Adjutant General left in 
command at San Antonio, puts their loss at 60 killed and 
251 wounded. On the 25 th of February, 1837, the bones 
of their victims were collected by Col. John JV. Seguin, 
then in command at the place, and decently and honorably 
interred. 

Simultaneously with the advance of Santa Anna, General 
XJrrea had proceeded along the Texas coast, reaching San 
Patricio on the 28th of February. It seems incredible that 
the Texans should have been kept in ignorance of this 
movement; but so it jvas. Major Morris, Dr. Grant and 
about forty Texans were out hunting horses, when Urrea's 
party passed, them undiscovered. Colonel F. W. Johnson 
and a few others were in the village of San Patricio when 
the Mexicans reached the neighborhood. The Mexican 
citizens had notice of the approach of Urrea, and were told 
to keep lights burning in their houses, so that their friends 
might know them. It so happened that Colonel Johnson 
was writing until a late hour, and before his light was extin- 
iruished, learned that the town was in the possession of 
IFrrea, and he and four companions — Messrs. Tone, Beck,> 
Toler and Miller — made their escape. 



MEXICAN INVASION. 247 

Colonel Grant, witli about forty men, liad been absent 
some ten clays on a scout for horses. They had followed a 
party of Mexicans to the Rio Grande, and secured a num> 
ber of horses and some prisoners, and were returning to Col* 
Johnson's headquarters at San Patricio. On the night in 
which Urrea captured the town, Grant and his party 
camped on the Agua Dulce creek, twenty-six miles to the 
south-west. From prisoners captured, the Mexicans 
learned that Grant's party were expected back, and Urrea 
sent out a strong cavalry force for their capture. When 
they were discovered, Grant, Morris, Benevedes and Brown 
were riding considerably in advance of the cavallado of 
horses driven by their companions. At Grant's request, 
Benevedes made his escape, and hastened to Goliad to give 
Fannin notice of the Mexican invasion. Grant and Morris 
were killed, and Brown taken a prisoner, by being las- 
soed. The other Texans were all killed. (See Brown, Grant, 
etc.) 

Colonel Fannin had been ordered first to Velasco, on 
recruiting service, and subsequently to the West, and 
invested with authority (as agent) to prepare for a descent 
upon Matamoras. He was in command at Goliad, with 
about 400 men, mostly of the Georgia battalion, preparing 
for the expedition to the Rio Grande, when he heard of the 
invasion of the country by Santa Anna. Col. Bonham, from 
San Antonio, reached Goliad on the day that Urrea took 
San Patricio. Fannin at first resolved to go to the relief of 
Travis in the Alamo. But his gun-carriage broke down, 
and he lacked the means of transportation. During the 
delay caused by the accident, he heard of the advance of 
Urrea and the capture of San Patricio. He then re-entered 
Goliad, and put the place in a thorough state of defence. He 
at once dispatched Captain King, with twenty-eight men, to 
remove some families from Refugio. This was March 3d. 
King, instead of hastening back, as ordered, remained at 
Refuo-io, and sent to Goliad for more troops, as he was 



248 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

threatened with an attack. To Fannin this delay was 
vexatious, as he wished to fall back across the Guadalupe 
river, to which point he had been ordered by General 
Houston. But he immediately sent Lieutenant-Colonel 
Ward with 112 men to King's relief. Before Ward reached 
Befugio, King had been attacked by a party of cavalry. 
The enemy was repulsed with severe loss. Ward joined 
King in the old Mission on the evening of the 13th. That 
night they were attacked by a superior force of Mexicans, 
who w^ere again repulsed with heavy loss, and as they 
retreated, they were pursued by the companies of Ward and 
King. In the darkness the two were separated. Ward 
made his way back to the Mission. King and his men 
became bewildered, and finally got lost, and were the next 
day captured and put to death by order of Urrea. * 

Unwilling to leave Ward and King, Fannin successively 
sent four couriers to hurry them back to join him in the 
retreat. These all fell into the hands of the Mexicans and 
were put to death. On the 16th of March Fannin was 
reinforced by a company of twenty-eight cavahy, under 
Captain A. C. Horton. He j^repared for a retreat the same 
day, and a portion of the cannon were thrown into the 
river ; but just at night, while Horton was out reconnoitering, 
he discovered a laro-e force of the enemv in the immediate 
neighborhood. Apprehending an attack during the night, 
the cannon were hastily remounted, and preparations made 
for defence. 

* The above is the common version of this unfortunate affiiir. Mr. S. T. 
Brown, one of Ward's men, who escaped the massacre, gives a different 
account. He says, that, on the morning of the 16th, Ward and King differed 
as to who should command, wlien King with forty-six men withdrew from 
the fort, and was captured and all his men shot. In the fight, three of 
Ward's men were wounded. As Ward had positive orders to fall back and 
join Fannin at Victoria, he supplied the wounded with water, and left them 
in the Mission and fell back to the Guadalupe river; but before he reached 
Victoria, the disastrous battle of Colota had been fought, and he and most 
of his men were captured, and shared the fate of their companions under 
Fannin. The three wounded left in the Mission were taken out and shot, 8^ i 
Kefugio, with King's men. ) \ 

I 
/ 



BATTLE OF COLITA. '249 

Battle of Colita. — The morning of the 17th was foggy, 
and no enemy appearing in sight, about ten o'clock the 
army evacuated the fort, and took up the line of march for 
Victoria. After crossmg the Menawhila creek, about eight 
miles from Goliad, they halted to permit the oxen to graze. 
They had resumed the march and were within about two 
miles of the Colita creek, when a company of Urrea's 
cavalry was discovered in front and a little to their left, 
issuing from a point of timber. During the, morning fog 
the Mexicans had passed around and in front of Fannin to 
intercept his march. Horton and his cavalry had gone 
forward to make arrangements for crossing the river, and, 
if possible, to secure reinforcements. They Avere unable to 
join their companions. The Texans halted and made hasty 
preparations for a fight. A charge of Urrea's cavalry was 
gallantly repulsed by Fannin's artillery, which also poured 
a deadh^ fire upon the Mexican infantry. In a second charge 
the Mexicans suffered a still heavier loss. The fi^'ht con- 
tinned until dark, when the Mexicans retired out of gun- 
shot, and the Texans improved the time throwing up tem- 
porary breastworks. Fourteen of their number had been 
either killed or mortally wounded. Sixty others, including 
Colonel Fannin, were wounded. Before daylight Urrea 
received heavy reinforcements, including a park of artillery. 
With no adequate protection against the enemy's cannon ; 
in an open prairie, without water, for which the w^ounded, 
especially, were suffering, surrounded by an enemy of five 
times their number, the Texans were in a desperate condi- 
tion. What could they do but surrender as prisoners of 
war ? A white fla^g was raised and the following terms of 
surrender agreed upon : 1. That the Texans should be treated 
as prisoners of war according to the usages of civilized 
nations. 2. That private property sRouJd be respected and 
restored, but the side arms of the officers should be given up. 
3. The men should be sent to Copano, and thence in eight 
days to the United States, or as soon as vessels could be pro- 



250' HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

cured to take them. 4. The officers should be paroled and 
returned to the United States in like manner. 

The prisoners were taken back to Goliad and confined in 
the old Mission. They were joined b}^ the men captured 
with Ward on the 25th. All were cheerful in the prospect 
of a speedy liberation. While they were enlivening their 
prison on the evening of the 26th in singing " Home, Sweet 
Home," an order arrived from Santa Anna for their imme- 
diate execution ! 

The Massacre. — On the morning of the 27th — Palm 
Sunday — without warning, and under the pretext that they 
were starting to be sent home, the privates w^ere marched 
out first, in four companies, strongly guarded. They were 
taken in different directions, so that no two were close 
together, and when a short distance from the walls of the 
mission, the four divisions were halted and shot ! The most 
were instantly killed ; some, who were only wounded, were 
dispatched with sabres, and a few, by lying still and feigning 
death until dark, escaped. The officers and the wounded 
were still in the fort, and heard the firing and the shrieks 
of the wounded and dying. They, too, were immediately 
marshalled in line and marched out to meet the fate of their 
companions. Fannin was the last to suffer. (See Fannin 
and Shackleford.) * 

In subsequent years, Santa Anna pleaded the obstinancy of 
Travis, and their stubborn resistance, after all resistance 
was useless, as an excuse for putting the last man of the 
brave garrison of the Alamo to the sword. But for the 
horrible massacre of Fannin's men, he offered no excuse ; 

* Reports do not agree as to the exact number put to death. Foote makes 
the number 330. The names of most of the victims may be found in the 
Texas Almanac for the year 1860. According to that statement, the whole 
number killed was 385. Ei'ht physicians and attendants were spared, and 
twenty-seven of those marched out to be slaughtered made their escape. 
Major Miller, with eighty volunteers, had just landed at Copano to join the 
Texas army ; but his men were without arms, and were uot included in the . 
order for execution. ! 



DISASTROUS DISAGREEMENTS. 251 

none could be offered. It was a cold-blooded, deliberate 
murder of prisoners of war, and should stamp its perpe- 
trators with eternal infamy. 

After the splendid achievement of the raw militia of 
Texas in the capture of the strongly-fortified city of Bexar, 
defended by more than twice their number of veteran Mex- 
ican regulars, it is painful in the extreme, to record the 
disasters of the opening campaign of 1836. It seems useless 
now to speculate as to the cause or causes of those disas- 
ters, which threatened the destruction of the Texas army. 
In General Houston's last speech in the United States Sen- 
ate, he reviews these events, and lays a large share of the 
blame on Colonel Fannin, who, " disregarding the orders of 
the commander-in-chief, became, by countenance of the 
•Council, a candidate for commander of the volunteers." In 
that speech, great injustice is done to Fannin, who had been 
appointed by the Lieutenant- Grovernor and Council, and 
who implored orders from Houston himself, or from the 
•Council, but whose only order was from Governor Robinson, 
''To make no retrograde movement." As we have stated, 
Houston still recognized Smith as governor, and by virtue 
of his authority, had ordered Colonel 'Neil to evacuate San 
Antonio, and Captain Dimmitt to evacuate Goliad. These 
officers obeyed Houston, taking such men as chose to fol- 
low their lead ; and Neil fell back to Gonzales, and Dimmitt 
to Victoria. But at the same time, Travis, acting under 
the authority of the Council, remained in command at San 
Antonio, and Fannin took command at Goliad. But this is 
not all, nor even the worst. At San Antonio, Bowie con- 
tended for the right to command over Travis, by virtue of 
his longer service, if not superior rank ; and so sharp was 
the contest, that Crockett, after reaching the city, threat- 
<ened, with his company, to leave immediately, if the two 
commanders did not come to terms. Soon afterward, 
Bowie was taken seriously ill, and this left Travis in com- 
mand of such troops as chose to submit to his authority. 



252 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Again, at Goliad, it was a question still unsettled, whether, 
under the Council, Fannin, or Grant, or Johnson was the 
ranking officer; a question not settled until Grant was 
killed, and Johnson compelled, with only four companions, 
to escape for his life, from the cavalry of Urrea. And as 
if to furnish a still further illustration of this miserable 
state of affairs, the two officers sent to Refugio quarreled, 
separated, and were both captured and shot by Urrea. 
Possibly, by remaining together, they might have rejoined 
Fannin, and the result have been very different. 

We may admire the heroism of Fannin, who wrote lo 
Governor Robinson, that if he did not receive relief he 
should remain at his post, even if it cost the lives of him- 
self and his men ; and the still more heroic declaration of 
Travis, that he should never retreat or surrender ; but still 
we cannot but feel that the lives of these brave and patriotic 
men w^ere sacrificed to the miserable personal squabbles 
prevailing in both the civil and military departments of the 
Provisional Government. 




SCOUTING. 



I 



CHAPTER V. 

THE MEXICAN MARCH TOWARDS SAN JACINTO— HOUSTON'S RETREAT — CAMPS IN MILL 
CREEK BOTTOM— THE MEXICANS MEET WITH RESISTANCE AT SAN FELIPE, AND TURN 
DOWN THE RIVER TO RICHMOND — BOTH ARMIES CROSS THE BRAZOS. 

/TV HE length of time required to capture the small 
-L garrison of the Alamo had been very vexatious to 
the President-General of Mexico, whose previous military 
movements had been conducted with great rapidity. But 
his victory was complete, and he now had leisure to plan for 
further operations. On the 11th of March he ordered 
Grenerals Sesma and Woll, with 675 infantry, 50 dragoons, 
two six-pounders and eight days' rations, to march for the 
interior, intending that they should go, via Columbus, San 
Felipe and Harrisburg, to Ananuac. He also ordered about 
400 men, with three guns, under Colonel Juan Morales, to 
reinforce Urrea at Goliad. His plan contemplated the 
invasion of the province by three divisions. One, consisting 
of about 750 men, under General Gaona, was to go via 
Bastrop and Washington to Nacogdoches ; the coast division 
of 1,700 men, under Urrea, to advance via Victoria, Brazoria, 
and Galveston to Ananuac ; and the central division, of 
about 4,000, under Filisola, was to follow the route taken 
by Sesma. Santa Anna, when he heard of the capture of 
Fannin, thought the conquest of Texas was effected, and in 
the exuberance of his delight gave orders to his subordinates 
to shoot all prisoners. He intended soon to return to his 
capital, and leave Filisola and Almonte to complete the 
reorganization of the government of the conquered province. 
But having heard from Sesma that a considerable army, 
under Houston, was encamped on the east bank of the 
16 



256 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Colorado, he, at the solicitation of Almonte and Filisola, 
concluded to remain and complete his work. 

On the fourth day of the session of the Convention at San 
Felipe, G-eneral Houston was re-elected commander-in-chief 
of the forces in the field. Two days later, on the 6th, the 
day the Alamo fell, Houston, with George W. Hockley, 
chief of staff, and one or two companions, left Washington 
for the headquarters of the army at Gonzales, arriving there 
on the 11th. Mr. Yoakum says : " It was Houston's inten- 
tion to combine the forces of Fannin and Xeil and march to 
the aid of Travis." But Houston, in his last senatorial 
speech, says he had anticipated that calamity (the fall of the 
Alamo), and went to Gonzales, intending to fall back. 
There has been no little controversy as to the number of 
men at Gonzales when Houston arrived there. Mr. Yoakum 
fixes the number at 374 ; other authorities make it twice as 
large, though no thorough organization had been eftected. 
As our readers will remember, thirty-two of the citizen 
soldiers from Gonzales entered the Alamo during the siege. 
The night Houston reached the place, the sad tidings arrived 
that the Alamo had fallen and its brave defenders were all 
killed. This produced an indescribable scene of grief in 
the town, as a dozen women and a large number of children 
had lost their husbands and fathers. A terrible panic 
ensued. Twenty-five soldiers, says Houston, deserted that 
nio-ht, and fleeing towards the Sabine, spread the news and 
the panic throughout the country. 

Houston deemed a retreat inevitable, and securing the 
women and children, the party took up the line of march 
about midnight, March 12th. As the rearguard left the 
town, the place was fired, without any orders. The Texans 
arrived at Peach creek the next day. Here they met a 
reinforcement of 125 men ; but when the news of the mas- 
sacre of Travis and his companions was told the new troops, 
twenty -five of them immediately left for their homes. The 
Texans reached the Navidad on the 14th, and the Colorado, 



Houston's retreat. 257 

at Burnham's, on the 17th, where the river was crossed ; 
the army now numbering about six hundred men. Descend- 
ing the stream, they encamped on the west bank, opposite 
Columbus, until the 25th. In the mean time, the Mexican 
advance, under Sesma, had reached the right bank of the 
river. By the 26th, Houston's army had increased to 
between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred men. 

Houston has been severely censured for not making a 
stand at that place. The river offered a good line of defence ; 
and as soon as he resumed his retrograde movement, many 
men, whose families would be exposed, had to leave the 
army to secure their safety. In his last speech in the Sen- 
ate, he gives the reason for his retreat. When encamped 
on the Lavaca river, going west, he had dispatched Col. 
Wm. T. Austin to Velasco for artillery. The guns were 
shipped up to Columbia, but owing to excessive rains, it 
was found impossible to transport them to army headquar- 
ters. Without artillery, and the soldiers depressed by the 
sad fate of Travis and of Fannin, Houston thought it best 
to fall back to the Brazos. When he reached the river at 
San Felipe, instead of crossing the stream and establishing 
a line of defense, he turned up across Mill creek, and 
encamped, from the 29th of March until the 12th of April, 
in the bottom. 

Mosely Baker, with a company of about one hundred 
men, was stationed on the east bank of the river, opposite 
San Felipe, to protect the ferry, and prevent the enemy from 
passing the stream. At Richmond, Wylie Martin, with forty- 
six men, was guarding the two ferries. On the day that 
Houston encamped on the west bank of the Brazos, Santa 
Anna started the bulk of his army from San Antonio; the 
central division following Sesma, and Gaona marching for 
Bastrop. The General himself did not leave the city until 
the last day of March, and arrived at Columbus on the 5th 
of April. Leaving his heavy guns and most of the infantry 
to follow, the President, with a division of cavalry, reached 



258 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

the neighborhood of San Felipe on the 7th, The town had 
been burnt. Baker showed so determined a resistance, that 
the Mexicans deflected down the river, camping at Cole's 
on the 9th and 10th, and sending a foraging party to the 
fine Mercer and Heard plantations, for provisions, sugar, 
etc. At Cole's a negro was captured and dispatched to 
Houston, with an insolent message to the General, in which 
Santa Anna told him that he knew where he was ; and as 
soon as he had cleaned out the land of thieves at Harris- 
burg, he w^as coming back to smoke him — Houston — out. 
The negro delivered the message. On the 1 1th the Mexicans 
camped at Powell's, and reached Richmond on the 12th. 
Almonte, who knew the place, rode down to the lower ferry, 
kept by Mr. Morton, and in good English announced that 
the Mexicans were approaching, and he wanted to make his 
escape. The negro ferryman, deceived by the speech, took 
the boat over, and it was instantly seized by the Mexican 
soldiers. In the meantime, the Mexicans were firing their 
guns at Captain Martin's company, at the upper ferry; 
whil^ others were crossing below. When Martin ascer- 
tained the ruse that had been practiced, he immediately 
started up the river to report to Houston. 

Houston seized the steamer Yellowstone, that had entered 
the Brazos to carry out cotton ; and with this steamer, and 
a ferry boat, crossed the stream opposite Groce's on the 
same days — April 12th and 16th — that Santa Anna crossed 
the advance division of Mexicans at Richmond. 

The pertinent question recurs, why did Houston remain 
so long in the bottom? 

This hiding of himself, and so long period of inaction, 
have been severely criticised. He had stepped, so to speak, 
right out of the way of Santa Anna ; but did not ascend 
the river far enough to intercept Gaona, who would cross 
at Washington or Tenoxticlan. Newell, in his history, says 
this was done for a secure position. If Houston wished to 
avoid a fight, this was a very secure position. In his Sen- 



Houston's action criticised. 259 

atorial speech, the commander assigns another reason. He 
says that the reason he did not fall upon Santa Anna was, 
that excessive rains had so swollen the streams that it was 
impossible for him to emerge from his island camp in the 
bottom. This is hardly satisfactory. Why did he go there ? 
While he was in that camp, Santa Anna had traversed the 
whole distance from San Antonio to the Brazos, and finding 
the crossing opposed by a few determined men, under 
Mosely Baker and John N. Seguin, had gone down the 
stream and crossed at Richmond. It is probable that the 
true reason for this strange strategetical movement was 
very different from the one assigned ; one that he was never 
willing to avow.. In all his references to this trying period, 
the General complains of the insubordination of the sol- 
diers. He had ordered San Antonio evacuated. The order 
was not obeyed. Had ordered Fannin to evacuate Goliad. 
This was so tardily executed that his army was sacrificed. 
In the general army under Houston himself, men came and 
went, almost at will. He had the most unbounded confi- 
dence in the personal courage of his men, every one of 
whom was a hero. But he feared that in a hard-contested 
battle, this personal heroism might bring on a spirit of inde- 
pendence that would be uncontrollable, and might result in 
disorder and defeat. During the period in which they 
were in the bottom, they were isolated and he had an oppor- 
tunity to organize them, and establish his personal influ- 
ence and authority over them. At any rate he felt, when 
he crossed the river, that he could rely upon the obedience^ 
as well as the valor of his troops. He had taught them 
that obedience which is said to be the first duty of a 
soldier. 

The Fabian policy of General Houston was not generally 
approved by the civillians. JN^or was there a cordial feel- 
ing between the commander of the army and the newly- 
inaugurated President. Soon after the adjournment of the 
Convention, the President and his Cabinet removed from 



260 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Washington to Harrisburg, to be nearer the coast, and at 
a point where supplies for the army could be collected and 
forwarded to headquarters. Houston severely condemned 
this movement, as increasing the excitement and panic in 
the country. President Burnet remained at Harrisburg 
until the armies crossed the Brazos, when he descended the 
bayou to Lynchburg to secure the safety of his family and 
other families on the San Jacinto river. But before leav- 
ing Harrisburg, General Rusk, Secretary of War, was 
dispatched to army headquarters to arrest the retrograde 
movement of the army. In an order to Houston, Burnet 
rather curtly told the Greneral : " The enemy are laughing 
you to scorn. You must fight them. You must retreat no 
farther. The country expects you to fight. The salvation 
of the country depends on your doing so." General Hous- 
ton's response to this executive missive was the Battle of 
San Jacinto. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE HOSTILE ARMIES APPROACH EACH OTHER— SKIRMISH ON THE 20TH— BATTLE OF 
SAN JACINTO, APRIL 21ST— HOUSTON'S OEFICIAL REPORT— REFLECTIONS. 

)t(hE Texans were without artillery ; but some friends 
J- in Cincinnati had procured a couple of guns named 
the " Twin Sisters," and had shipped them to Texas as 
hollow ware. These guns arrived at Galveston in due 
time and were shipped up to Harrisburg on the schooner 
Kosciusko, Captain Aaron Burns, and reached the army 
at the Brazos. They made a telling report in the subse- 
quent battle. 

While encamped at Donoho's, three miles from the 
river, on the 15th, Captain Martin reached headquarters 
and reported the crossing of the Mexicans at Richmond. 
Mr. Yoakum states that " Martin's command being worn 
out and exhausted with fatigue, was directed to conduct the 
families that were flying from the seat of war, to Bobbins' 
Ferry on the Trinity." Other accounts state that Martin 
was so disgusted with the conduct of the campaign, espe- 
cially in leaving so inadequate a force at Richmond, that 
he gave up his sword and absolutely refused to remain in 
the ranks. Other brave men took the route to the Trinity. 
Such were some of the difficulties of the commander in 
this trying period. However, he found a true friend and 
safe counsellor in Colonel Rusk, the Secretary of War, and 
the two cordially co-operated in the future conduct of the 
campaign. The prairies were boggy from recent rains, 
and the streams swollen ; but, by great exertions, the 
Texans reached Roberts, on the 16th ; Mrs. M'Curley's, on 
Spring creek, on the 17th, and the banks of Buffalo bayou, 
opposite Harrisburg, on the 18th. 



2Q^ HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

On the 15th of April, Santa Anna left the banks of 
Oyster creek, near Richmond, dining at Staitbrd's, and 
reaching Harrisburg late that night. After two days 
spent at that place, he went down to JN'ew Washington for 
fresh supplies. In their march the Mexicans had burned 
Harrisburg and Stafford's gin-house ; and before leaving, 
burnt New Washington. The Texans had burned Gon- 
zales, San Felipe and the houses of Burnham and Dewees, 
on the Colorado. 

While the Texans were at Harrisburg, an extraordinary 
Mexican courier with a mail, was captured by Deaf Smith. 
From the dispatches from Filisola, the Texans learned that 
Santa Anna was with the advance column, then at IN'ew 
Washington. This intelligence thrilled the Texans with 
delight. They felt sure that they could gain a victory over 
the very small force with the President General. The Tex- 
ans were paraded, and patriotic addresses delivered by 
Houston and Rusk. The sick and baggage were left; the 
army crossed the bayou and hurried down to the mouth of 
the San Jacinto, w^here they expected to encounter the 
enemy. Early on the morning of the 20th, they encamped 
on the right bank of the bayou, in a skirt of timber. Earlv 
that morning, Santa Anna had dispatched a boat-load of 
provisions, procured from Colonel Morgan's warehouse, up 
to Lynchburg, for his own troops. The boat fell into the 
hands of the Texans, and furnished a grateful supply to 
men who had been marching on short rations. 

Santa Anna was preparing to leave New Washington 
for Anahuac, via Lynchburg. The place had been burned, 
and about 9 o'clock in the morning, his scouts arrived, and 
reported the Texans already at the ferry, prepared to resist 
his further march to the East. This was a complete sur- 
prise to the General. He considered the country already 
subjugated, and supposed the Texans would be careful to 
keep out of reach. He, however, ordered his men to parade 




HOUSTON DICTATING ORDERS TO ADJUTANT HOCKIjKT 



/ OFFICIAL EEPORT. 265 

and march in order of battle to the designated spot, where 
he encamped about the middle of the afternoon. * 

We subjoin General Houston's official report of the battle : 

Headquarters of the Army, ) 
San Jacinto, April 25, 1886. ^ 

To His Excellency D. G. Burnet, President of the Republic of Texas : 

Sir:— I regret extremel}^ that my situation since the battle of the 21st 
has been such as to prevent my rendering you my oflScial report of the 
same previous to this time. 

I have the honor to inform you, that on the evening of the eighteenth 
instant, after a forced march of fifty-five miles, which was effected in two 
days and a half, the army arrived opposite Harrisburg. That evening a 
courier of the enemy was taken, from whom I learned that General Santa 
Anna, with one division of his choice troops, had marched in the direction 
of Lynch's Ferry, on the San Jacinto, buruiug Harrisburg as he passed 
down. The army was ordered to be in readiness to march early on the 

* The official report of General Houston gives the best account of the 
skirmish of the 20th, and also the most reliable account of the decisive battle. 
A good deal of controversy has existed as to the destruction of Vince's 
Bridge on Simm's Bayou. Houston says it was cut down. Others say it 
was burned. It was probably burned, though Houston may have ordered 
it cut down. Houston says it was by his order, and solely at his sugges- 
tion. Other parties affirm that the suggestion originated with Deaf Smith. 
The parties burning the bridge were from Karnes' cavalry company. They 
were Deaf Smi th, D. W. Rives, John Coker, Y. P. Alsbury, E. R. Rainwater, 
John Garner and Moses Laphain. The burning of the bridge arrested the 
progress of many of the flying Mexicans, though a few succeeded in crossing 
the stream. Santa Anna, after reaching the bayou, turned down and spent the 
night in a thicket. The next day, some of Burleson's men were out hunting 
the fugitives, when one of them saw a deer on the prairie looking intently at 
some object in the tall grass. The man approached the spot and found lying 
on the grass a Mexican in commou garb, but discovered a gold button in 
his sleeves. He took him to his companions, who conducted him back to 
camp ; having no idea of the rank of their prisoner. He complained of his 
feet hurting him, and he was permitted to get on behind Joel W- Robinson 
and ride into camp. As the company passed in, the Mexican prisoners 
exclaimed, " El Presidente." Inquiry was made of General Almonte, who 
announced that the one just brought in was no less a personage than Santa 
Anna himself. He was conducted to Houston's camp, and his own officers 
allowed to remain with him, and his personal liaggage restored. The com- 
pany who found him were James A. Sylves^r (a printer, who had been 
taken a prisoner at Harrisburg, when the town was entered by the Mox- 
caiis ; but who, being detailed to drive a cart, drove into the Texan camp, 
on the morning of the 20th,) Joel W. Robinson, A. H. Miles and David 
Cole. 



2(^6 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

next inornlug. The main body effected a crossing over Buffalo Bayou, be- 
low Harrisburgh, ou the inoniing of the 19th, having left the baggage, the 
sick, and a sufficient camp guard, in the rear. "We continued the march 
throughout the night, making but one halt in the prairie for a short time, 
and without refreshment. At daylight we resumed the line of march, and 
in a short distance our scouts encountered those of the enemy, and we 
received infornuit ion that (;!eneral Santa Anna was at New Washington, 
and would that day take up the line of march for Anahuac, crossing at 
Lynch's Ferry. The Texian army halted within half a mile of the ferry 
in some timber, and were engaged in slaughtering beeves, when the ai'my 
of Santa Anna was discovered to be ajjproaching in battle array, having 
been encamped at Clopper's Point, eight miles below. Disposition was 
immediately made of our forces, and prei)aration for his reception. He 
took a position with his Infimtry and Artillery in the centre, occupying an 
island of timber, his Cavalry covering the left flank. The Artillery, con- 
sisting of one double-fortified medium brass twelve-pounder, then opened 
on our encampment. The Infantry in column advanced with the design of 
charging our lines, but were repulsed by a discharge of grape and canister 
from our Artillery, consisting of two six-pounders. The enemy had occu- 
pied a piece of timber within rifle-shot of the left wing of our army, from 
which an occasional interchange of small arms took place between the 
troops, until the enemy withdrew to a position on the bank of the San 
Jacinto, about three-quarters of a mile from our encampment, and com- 
menced fortification. A short time before sunset, our mounted men, about 
eighty-five in number, under the special connnand of Colonel Sherman, 
marched out for the purpose of reconnoitering the enemy. Whilst advanc- 
ing they received a volley from the left of the enemy's Infantry, and after 
a sharp rencontre with their Cavalry, in which ours acted extremely well, 
and performed some feats of daring chivalry, they retired in good order, 
having had two men severely Avounded and several horses killed. In the 
meantime the Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colunel Millard, 
and Colonel Burleson's regiment, with the Artillery, had marched out for 
the purpose of covering the retreat of the Cavalry if necessary. All then 
fell back in good order to our encampment, about sunset, and remained 
without any ostensible action until the 21st, at half-past three o'clock, 
taking the first refreshment which they had enjoyed for two days. The 
enemy in the meantime extended the right flauK of their Inlantry so as to 
occupy the extreme point of a skirt of timber on the bank of the San 
Jacinto, and secured their left by a fortification about five feet high, con- 
structed of packs and baggage, leaving an opening in the centi-e of the breast- 
work, in which their Artillery was placed, their Cavalry upon their left 
wing. 

About nine o'clock ou the morning of the 21st, the enemy were rein- 
forced by .'"iiiO choice troops, under the cofnmand of General Cos, increasing 
their eflective force to upwards of 1500 men, whilst our aggregate force for 
the field numbered 783. At half-past three o'clock, in the evening, I order- 
ed tlie officers of the Texian army to parade their respective commands, 
having in the meantime ordered the bridge on the only road communicating 
with the Brazos, distant eight miles from our encampment, to be destroyed,. 



OFFICIAL REPORT. 267 

thus cutting off all possibility Of escape. Our troops paraded with alacrity 
and spirit, and were anxious for the contest. Their conscious disparity in 
numbers seemed only to increase their enthusiasm and confidence, and 
heightened their anxiety for the conflict. Our situation afforded me an 
opportunity of making the arrangements preparatory to the attack, with- 
out exposing our designs to the enemy. The 1st Regiment, commanded by 
Colonel Burleson, was assigned the center. The 2d Regiment, under the 
command of Colonel Sherman, formed the left wing of the army. The 
Artillery, under the special command of Colonel George "W. Hockley, 
Inspector General, was placed on the right of the 1st Regiment; and four 
companies of Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry 
Millard, sustained the Artillery upon the righl. Our Cavalry, 61 in num- 
ber, commanded by Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar (whose gallant and daring 
conduct on the previous day had attracted the admiration of his comrades, 
and called him to that station), placed on our extreme right, completed our 
line. Our Cavalry was first dispatched to the front of the enemy's left, for 
the purpose of attracting their notice, whilst an extensive island of timber 
afforded us an opportunity of concentrating our forces and displaying from 
that point, agreeably to the previous design of the trooi>s. Every evolution 
was performed with alacrity, the whole advancing rapidly in line, and 
through an open prairie, without any protection whatever for our men. 
The Artillery advanced and took station within two hundred yards of the 
enemy's breastwork, and commenced an effective fire with grape and can- 
nister. 

Colonel Sherman, with his regiment, having commenced the action upon 
our left wing, the whole line, at the center and on the right, advancing in 
double quick time, rung the war cry, ''Remember the Alamo," received 
the enemy's fire, and advanced within point-blank shot before a piece was 
discharged from our lines. Our line advanced without a halt, until they 
were in possession of the woodland and the enemy's breastwork, the right 
wing of Burleson's and the left of Millard's taking possion of the breast- 
work; our Artillery having gallantly charged up within seventy yards of 
the enemy's cannon, when it was taken by our troops. The conflict lasted 
about eighteen minutes from the time of close action until we were in pos- 
session of the enemy's encampment, taking one piece of cannon (loaded), 
four stand of colore, all their camp eqnipage, stores, and baggage. Our 
Cavalry had charged and routed that of the enemy up')n the right, and 
given pursuit to the fugitives, which did not cease until they arrived at the 
bridge wliich I have mentioned before— Captain Karnes, always among tlie 
foremost in danger, commanding the pursuers. The conflict in the breast- 
work lasted but a few m)mcnts; many of the troops encountered hand to 
hand, and not having the advantage of bayonets on our side, our riflemen 
used their pieces as war clubs, breaking many of them off at the breech. 
The rout commenced at half-past four, and the pursuit by the main army 
continued until twilight. A guard was then left in charge of the enemy's 
encampment, and our army returned with their killed and wounded. In 
the battle, our loss was 2 killed, and 23 wounded, of whom mortally. 
The enemy's loss was 630 killed; among whona were 1 General otficor, 4 
ColoHels, 2 Lieutenant-Colonels, 5 Captains, 12 Lieutenants ; wounded, 208; 



268 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of which were 5 Colonels, 3 Lieutenant-Colonels, 2 Second Lieutenant- 
Colonels, 7 Captains,! Cadet; prisoners, 730; President-General Santa 
Anna, General Cos, 4 Colonels, (Aids to General Santa Anna), and the 
Colonel of the Guerrero Battallion, are included in the number. General 
Santa Anna was not taken until the 22d, and General Cos on yesterday, 
very few having escaped. About 600 muskets, 300 sabres, and 200 pistols, 
have been collected since the action; several hundred mules and hordes 
were taken, and near twelve thousand dollars in specie. For several days 
previous to the action, our troops were engaged in forced marches, exposed 
to excessive rains, and the additional inconvenience of extremely bad roads, 
illy supplied with rations and clothing; yet, amid every difficulty, they 
bore up with cheerfulness and fortitude, and performed their marches with 
spirit and alacrity. There was no murmuring. 

Previous to and during the action, my staff evinced every disposition to 
be useful, and were actively engaged in their duties. In the conflict, I am 
assured that they demeaned themselves in such a manner as proved tliem 
worthy members of the army of San Jacinto. Colonel T. J. Rusk, Secre- 
tary of AVar, was on the field. For weeks his services had been higlily 
beneficial to the army ; in battle he was on the left wing, where Colonel 
Sherman's command first encountered and drove the enemy; he bore him- 
self gallantly, and continued his efforts and activity, remaining with the 
pursuers until resistance ceased. 

I have the honor of transmitting herewith a list of all the officers and 
men who were engaged in the action, which I respectfully request may be 
published, as an act of justice to the individuals. For the Commanding 
General to attempt discrimination as to the conduct of those who command- 
ed in the action, or those who were commanded, would be impossible. 
Our success in the action is conclusive proof of their daring intrepidity and 
courage ; every officer and man proved himself worthy of the cause in 
which he battled, while the triumph received a lustre from the humanity 
which characterized their conduct after victory, and richly entitles them to 
the admiration and gratitude of their General. Nor should we withhold 
the tribute i)f our grateful thanks from that Being who rules the destinies 
of nations, and has in the time of greatest need enabled us to arrest a pow- 
erful invader whilst devastating our country. 

I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your obedient servadt, 

Sam. Houston, 

Comma nder-in- Chief. 

The Texas campaign of 1836 furnishes one of the most 
interesting and remarkable chapters in American history. 
The population of the province amounted to only a little 
over 30,000 ; that of Mexico to over 7,000,000. Texas 
could hardly be said to have an organized government. It 
was disturbed by divided counsels, and under the control 
of distrusted leaders, and was destitute of money and credit, 




Plan of Battll. 



270 . HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and of quartermasters' or commissary stores. The Gov- 
ernment of Mexico was a centralized despotism ; complete- 
ly controlled by the brave and experienced Santa Anna. 
The opening of the campaign was fearfully disastrous to 
the Texan cause. San Antonio and Groliad had been cap- 
tured, and the massacre of all the men engaged in the 
defense of these posts furnished an index of the character 
of Santa Anna; and it was such as might appall the 
bravest, and dishearten the most hopeful. Successfully, 
and without serious resistance, the victorious Mexicans 
marched from San Antonio and Goliad, to the extreme 
eastern borders of Austin's colony, crossing the Guadalupe, 
the Colorado, and the Brazos rivers, leaving the finest por- 
tions of Texas without inhabitants, and its principal towns 
.smouldering ruins. 

]S"otwitlistanding these disheartening events, a few brave 
men, under Houston, Sherman, Burleson, Rusk and other 
heroic leaders, rallied around the flag of the Lone Star 
Republic, fully resolved to keep it afloat or perish beneath 
its folds. By forced marches they threw themselves on the 
flank of the foe, burned the bridge, and left themselves no 
alternative but victory or death. The remark has often 
been made that the soldiers of San Jacinto never jest about 
the events of that decisive day. The work was too serious. 
The fate of Texas and the Texans hung in too uncertain 
balance ; and then and there they resolved to decide it at 
the cost of their blood and lives. According to all human 
calculations their cause was all but hopeless. Santa Anna 
had the heavy battallions, the overwhelming numbers, the 
veteran commanders and troops. To him the victory 
ought to have been easy. But his opponents, though few 
in number, and but poorly supplied with the munitions of 
war, were simply invincible. 

The student of history is often led to the conclusion that 
a superintending Providence guides the afl^airs of nations. 
It w\as manifestly the design of that Providence that Amer- 



REFLECTIONS. 271 

ican ideas, and institutions, and people, should possess and 
develop the resources of this splendid country. 

Though the numbers engaged in the battle of San Jacin- 
to were insignificant when compared with other great bat- 
tles, the result was important. It secured immediately 
the establishment of the Republic of Texas ; and ultimate- 
ly its annexation to the United States. Upon this follow- 
ed the war with Mexico, and the transfer of the vast inte- 
rior region, from the Rio Grande to the Pacific ocean, from 
the Mexican to the American flag, thus changing the map 
of North America. 

Again, without the acquisition of Texas it is hardly prob- 
able the Southern States would have ventured upon the 
experiment of secession ; the result of which was the great 
civil war, and finally the emancipation of four millions of 
slaves ; thus materially changing the whole labor system 
of the South. 

For over a century Texas had been under Spanish and 
Mexican domination, and with the exception of colonists 
introduced mainly by American enterprise during the last 
decade, population had steadily diminished. Since that 
period, in less than half a century our populution has in- 
creased from a few thousands, to two millions, with a cor- 
responding increase in wealth, commerce, products, and the 
means of moral and intellectual culture. Who can doubt 
that a super-human wisdom and power guided the affairs 
of Texas in that critical period of her history ? 



CHAPTER VII. 

PRESIDENT BURNET AT GALVESTON— RETREAT OF FILISOLA— TREATY WITH SANTA 
AXNA — FEELING IN EAST TEXAS— DIFFICULTIES OF THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABI- 
NET — ATTEMPT TO ARREST THE PRESIDENT — ANOTHER MEXICAN INVASION THREAT- 
ENED— NAVAL OPERATIONS— MORTIT'S REPORT ON TEXAS— ELECTION— MEETING OP 
CONGRESS^— CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

(a) FTER leaving Harrisburg, President Burnet and Vice- 
-^^ , President Zavalla went to their homes near Lynch- 
burg. The former put his family on a small boat, and was 
just leaving l^ew Washington as a squad of Mexican cav- 
alry under Almonte dashed into the place. Temporarily, 
the Executive Department was established at Galveston. 
As soon as the President heard that the army was on Buf- 
falo Bayou, he and Mr. Potter loaded some vessels with 
supplies and started them up to Harrisburg ; but the boats 
got aground, or met with other detention, so that they did 
not reach the army until after the battle. On the 23d of 
April, Burnet wrote to Colonel Rusk, suggesting that, if 
necessary, the army could fall back to Galveston, and make 
a final stand on that island. Four days later, but before 
the news of the victory had reached the island, Warren D. 
C. Hall, Acting Secretary of War, addressed a similar 
letter to General Houston. Cannon had been transported 
from the Brazos ; and, under the supervision of Col. James 
Morgan and Col. A. Huston, the island had been put in a 
tolerable state for defense. 

It was six days before news of the battle reached Gal- 
veston, and then President Burnet, and such members of 
the Government as were with him, hastened up to the bat- 
tle-field, arriving there on the first of May. (See Calder, 
R. J.) 



RETREAT OF FILISOLA. 275 

Immediately after the capture of Santa Anna, that officer 
wrote to Filisola to countermarch to Bexar and await 
further orders ; and to direct General Urrea to fall back to 
the Guadalupe at Victoria. Filisola immediately com- 
menced his retreat. He camped at Powel's, on the Ber- 
nard, on the 25th, where he was joined by Gaona, who had 
passed from the neighborhood of Burton down the Bernard, 
and also by Urrea, from Brazoria. Filisola then had an 
army of over four thousand men. But his ammunition had 
been injured, and he was not in a condition to fight, even 
if he had not felt obliged to obey the orders of the captive 
President-General. 

At Lynchburg, President Burnet reorganized his cabinet. 
Mr. Carson, Secretary of State, had been compelled to resign 
on account of declining health, and James Collinsworth took 
his place. David Thomas had been accidentally killed, and 
Peter W Grayson became Attorney-General. General 
Houston, who had been severely wounded in the battle, 
resigned the command of the army to go to New Orleans 
for surgical aid, and Mr. Busk succeeded to the command, 
and General Lamar became Secretary of War. Messrs. 
Zavalla, Potter and Hardeman were at their posts. For 
better accommodations, on the 8th of May the President 
and his Cabinet, and Santa Anna and staff, left Lynchburg 
for Velasco, which became the temporary seat of Govern- 
ment. There, on the 14th of May, a treaty was entered 
into between the President of Texas, and a majority of his 
Cabinet, and Santa Anna. Some of Mr. Burnet's Cabinet 
were opposed to the treaty, especially that provision by 
which Santa Anna was to be released and sent home. Messrs. 
Ben. Fort Smith, and Henry Teal were sent with a copy of 
this treaty to Filisola for ratification. The Commissioners 
found the Mexican General at Goliad on the 26th of May. 
The treaty was examined, and Messrs. Tolsa and Amat, of 
his staff, ratified it on behalf of the Mexican army in the 

17 



276 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

field. Filisola continued his retreat and crossed the Rio 
Grrande in June. 

The following is Santa Anna's letter to Filisola, accompa- 
nied by a copy of the public treaty : 

Excellent Sir: Annexed I send to your Excellency the Articles of the 
Agreement entered into by me, with his Excellency David G. Burnet, 
President of the Eepublic of Texas, for your information and fulfillment of 
the same to its full extent, in order that no complaints may arise tending to 
cause a useless rupture. I expect to receive without any delay your Excel- 
lency's answer by this same opportunity, and accept in the meantime my 
consideration and regard. God and Liberty 

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. 

To His Excellency General of I>ivision, Don Vicente Filisola. 

Articles of an Agreement entered into, between his Excellency David 
G. Burnet, President of the Republic of Texas, of the one part, and General 
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, President, General-in-Chief of the Mexican 
army, of the other part. 

Art. 1. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna agrees that he will not 
take up arms, nor will he exercise his influence to cause them to be taken up, 
against the people of Texas during the present war of Independence. 

Art. 2. All hostilities between the Mexican and Texau troops will cease 
immediately, both on land and water. 

Art. 3. The Mexican troops will evacuate the Territory of Texas, passing 
to the other side of the Rio Grande del Norte. 

Art. 4. The Mexican army in its retreat shall not take the property of 
any person without liis consent and just indemnification, using only such 
articles as may be necessary for its subsistence in cases where the owner 
may not be present ; and remitting to the Commander of the Army of Texas, 
or to the Commissioners to be appointed for the adjustment of such matters, 
an account of the value of the property consumed, the place where taken, 
and the name of the owner, if it can be ascertained. 

Art. 6. That all private property, including cattle, horses, negro slaves, 
or indentured persons, of whatever denomination, that may have been cap- 
tured by any portion of the Mexican army, or may have taken refuge in the 
said army since the commencement of the late invasion, shall be restored 
to the Commander of the Texan army, or to such other persons as ma}- be 
appointed by the Government of Texas to receive them. 

Art. 6, The troojjs of both armies will refrain from coming into contact 
with each other, and to this end the Commander of the army of Texas will 
be careful not to approach within a shorter distance of the JNIexican army 
than five leagues. 

Art. 7. The Mexican army shall not make any other delay on its march 
tlian that which is necessary to take up their hospitals, baggage, etc., and to 
cross the rivers: any delay not necessary to these purposes to be cousidei'ed 
an infraction of this agreement. 



PUBLIC TREATY. 277 

Art. 8. By express, to be immediately dispatched, this agreement shall 
be sent to General Vicente Filisoia and to General T. J. Rusk, Commander 
of the Texan army, in order that they may be apprised of its stipulations, 
and to this end they will exchange engagements to comply with the same. 

Art. 9. That all Texan prisoners now in possession of the Mexican army 
or its authorities be forthwith released and furnished with free passports to 
return to their homes, in consideration of which a corresponding number of 
Mexican prisoners, rank and file, now in possession of the Government of 
Texas, shall be immediately released. The remainder of the Mexican 
prisoners that continue in possession of the Government of Texas to be 
treated with due humanity ; any extraordinary comforts that may be fur- 
nished them to be at the charge of the Government of Mexico'. 

Art. 10. Genei-al Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna will be sent to Vera Cruz 
as soon as it shall be deemed proper. 

The contracting parties sign this instrument for the above-mentioned pur- 
poses, by duplicate, at the Port of Velasco, this Uth of May, 1836. 

David G. Burnet, 
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. 

James CoiiLiNswcBTH, Secretary of State. 

Bailey Hardeman, Secretary of the Treasury 

P. W. Grayson, Attorney-General. 

Goliad, 25th May, 1836. 

Excellent Sir: When on the point of taking up my march with the 
army I have the honor to command, I received your Excellency's cr)mmu 
nication announcing the agreements made by your Excellency with the 
Commander of the Texian forces. Previous to the reception of those 
agreements I was disposed to obey your prior orders, communicated to me 
ofiicially ; in fulfillment of them I was already on my march, and continued 
therein on this very day; nor shall there be any other delay than what may 
be absolutely necessary for transporting the sick, trains, stores, and muni- 
tions of war, as is provided for in the treaty. Inasmuch as the said treaty 
is duly drawn up, agreed to, and ratified by your Excellency, in the chai-acter 
of President of the Republic, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army of 
Operations, I cannot fail to obey it in all its parts, and have acted in con- 
formity since the commencement. For I have scrupulously performed that 
part respecting property, prisoners and payment of what has been furnished 
to the army for its subsistence. Agreeably to the treaty aforesaid, I will 
also enter into arrangements with the Commander of the Texian forces for 
a mutual fulfillment of its stipulations and adjustment of claims which may 
arise. God and Liberty 

Vicente Filisola. 

To His Excellency, General Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Pres- 
ident of the Hepublic. 

The preceding is the public treaty. The secret one, as 
found in Yoakum, Vol. 2, iVppendix No. 5, page 528, is as 
follows : 



278 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

SECRET AGREEMENT. 

Port of Velasco, May 14th, 1836. 

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, General-in-Chief of the Army of Opera- 
tions, and President of the Republic of Mexico, before the Government 
established in Texas, solemnly pledges himself to fulfill the stipulations 
contained in the following articles, so far as concerns himself: 

Article 1. He will not take up arms, nor cause them to be taken up, 
against the people of Texas, during the present war for Independence. 

Art. 2. He will give his orders that in the shortest time the Mexican 
troops may leave the Territory of Texas. 

Art. 3. He will so prepare matters in the Cabinet of Mexico, that the 
mission that may be sent thither by the Government of Texas may be well 
received, and that by means of negotiations all differences may be settled, 
and the Independence that has been declared by the Convention may be 
acknowledged. 

Art. 4. A treaty of comity, amity, and limits, will be established between 
Mexico and Texas, the territory of the latter not to extend beyond the Rio 
Bravo del Norte. 

Art. 5. The present return of General Santa Anna to Vera Cruz being 
indispensable for the purpose of effecting his solemn engagements, the Gov- 
ernment of Texas will provide for his immediate embtu'kation for said port. 

Art. 6. This instrument being obligatory on one part, as well as on the 
other, will be signed in duplicate, remaining folded and sealed until the 
negotiations shall have been concluded, when it will be restored to His' 
Excellency, General Santa Anna — no use of it to be made before that time, 
unless there should be an infraction by either of the contracting parties. 

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, 
David G. Burnet. 

James Collinsworth, Secretary of State. 

Bailey Hardeman, Secretary of the Treasury. 

P. W. Gratson, Attorney-General. 

East Texas had escaped actual invasion, though suffering 
much from the exi:)ected arrival of Gaona, who was known 
to be on the march for JN'acogdoches. That portion of the 
province had a considerable populiition of Mexicans, who, 
owing to controversies about old land titles and claims, cher- 
ished no good feeling for their American neighbors. They 
also suspected the fidelity of the numerous bands of Indians 
who had squatted on land claimed by the Cherokees and 
their associate bands. It was feared that any disaster to 
the Texans would be seized upon by these Indians, who 
might murder the settlers to secure their lands. Fortu- 
nately, John A. Quitman, of Mississippi, arrived in Nacog- 



SANTA ANNA A PRISONER. 279 

doches early in April, with a small military company, which 
afforded ample protection to families, whether remaining on 
Texas soil, or crossing the Sabine river into Louisiana. 

Although the great victory at San Jacinto had, for the 
time, banished Mexican soldiers from the soil of Te'xas, 
except as j^risoners of war, it still left many embarrassing 
questions for the solution of the Government ad interim. 
The army had moved to the west to see that the retreating 
Mexicans observed the provisions of the treaty. As the 
time expired for which they had severally enlisted, they 
were discharged ; but volunteers continued to arrive and 
swell the ranks, until there were nearly two thousand men 
in camps. But the country had been deserted by its inhab- 
itants, and overrun by the Mexicans, and provisions were 
exceedingly scarce. Under these circumstances the men 
became dissatisfied ; and citizens had reason to complain that 
their horses and cattle, and even their corn for bread and 
for seed, were taken by parties of soldiers, without officers, 
who were constantly passing through the western settlements. 
After proceeding as far west as Goliad, and seeing the 
Mexicans safely out of the country. General Rusk collected 
the remains of the victims of the Fannin massacre, and had 
them decently interred. He then returned to the neighbor- 
hood of Victoria. 

The most difficult and embarrassing question was the 
disposition to be made of the captive President of Mexico. 
The President and three members of his cabinet were for 
releasing him and sending him home according to the literal 
terms of the treaty, which all parties had signed. But two 
members were violently opposed to this, and wanted him 
tried by a drum-head court-martial. The Texas schooner 
Invincible, commanded by Captain J. Brown, was at Velasco, 
and on the 1st of June, Santa Anna, Almonte, Munez, and 
Caro were placed on board to be sent to Vera Cruz. Messrs. 
Zavilla and Hardeman were to go out as Commissioners, to 
negotiate a treaty with Mexico. The peojole, generally, dis- 



280 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

approved this step. A public meeting was held, and 
resolutions passed, demanding that the prisoners be brought 
back on shore. To add to the difficulties, on the 2d of 
June a number of volunteers arrived from 'New Orleans, 
under T. Jeiferson Green, who threatened hostile demon- 
strations if the vessel was allowed to sail with the prisoners^ 
Such was the excitement, that the President reluctantly 
yielded to the clamor ; Santa Anna and his suite were dis- 
embarked, and taken in charge by the military, and kept 
in close confinement, until after the meeting of Congress. 

During this excitement, every member of the Cabinet 
threatened to resign, and let the Government dissolve ; but 
Burnet induced them to retain office until an election could 
be ordered.* In the meantime, the excitement had reached 
the army, and at a mass meeting of the soldiers a resolution 
was passed ordering Burnet's arrest. The first intimation 
he had of this state of feeling was the receipt of an angry 
letter signed by a large number of the officers, from which 
we make a short extract : 

" The subject of General Santa Anna, we heard with indignation. That 
the proposition has been seriously debated by jou and your Cabinet as to- 



^President Burnet gives this account of the feeling of his cabinet officers,, 
during this trying period : '^The violent and dictatorial language of the 
army, the pragmatic and senseless denunciation of the newly arrived vol- 
unteers, and the overheated anathemas of many citizens, all concentrated 
in one portentous mass upon the members of the administration, and 
especially on myself, were well calculated to weary the patience of men 
who had rather consented to discharge the arduous duties, than courted 
the honors or emoluments of office. At the moment the tumult had reach- 
ed its acme of excitement, it was seriously proposed in Cabinet council to 
make a simultaneous surrender of the Government to the people, the foun- 
tain of all political power. The proposition was, I believe, congenial with 
the individual feelings of every memljer present; but I resisted it, on the 
gi'ound that an abandonment at such a juncture, would throw Texas into 
irretrievable anarchy and confusion. I felt, in common with my associates, 
the injustice and the cruelty of the denunciations against us ; but I also felt 
that the well-being of the country demanded a sacrifice of feeling; and I 
preferred being abused for a season, to the abdication of my office and the 
jeopardizing of every hope of success in the great enterprise, the establish- 
ment of the independence of Texas, to which I had solemnly pledged my 
utmost exertions." 



ATTEMPT TO ARREST BURNET. 281 

the policy of turning him loose, and that some of you propose his liberation. 
That we should suspect the purity of the motive which suggested such a 
policy, you must not doubt. It is well known by whom he was captured, 
and at what risk, and we will not permit him to be liberated until a consti- 
tutional Congress and President shall determine that it is expedient; and 
should he be liberated without the sanction of Congress, the army of citizen 
soldiers will again assume the privilege of putting down the enemies of 
Texas." 

The excitement against Burnet rose to such a high pitch 
that, early in July, at a mass meeting of the soldiers in 
camp, a resolution was passed denouncing him and order- 
ing his arrest. Lieutenant-Colonel Millard, of the regulars, 
was deputed to proceed to Yelasco, take the President, and 
carry him to camp for trial. Millard took only a few men 
with him, and those were not of the most reliable charac- 
ter. It was intended to keep the object of their mission a 
secret ; but one of the men got drunk and betrayed them. 
It was further fortunate for Burnet that Millard found 
Major A. Turner, then in command of Galveston, at Velas- 
co. As Turner was of the same regiment, Millard commu- 
nicated to him the object of his visit, and requested Turner 
to assist him in its accomplishment. Turner, who was a 
warm personal friend of the President, at once notified him 
of the intended arrest. Of course Burnet was indignant, 
and denied the authority of the army to interfere with the 
civil government. * 

In the mean time, the report started by the drunken 
sailor had gained a wide circulation, and produced a pro- 
found impression. It instantly cemented the hitherto 
discordant members of the Cabinet; and as it spread 
throughout the adjacent settlements, roused the people to 

*The order to Turner was very comprehensive. It read : ''You are here- 
by ordered to proceed (from Quintana), to Velasco, and arrest the person 
of David G. Burnet; take into your possession the books and papers of his 
oflBce; and you will also take into your possession the books, papers and 
records of the Secretaries of State, of War, and of the Treasury, and them 
safely keep, and report forthwith. 

[Signed] H. Millakd." 



282 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the danger in which the civil government was placed. They 
rushed to Velasco, determined to stand by the President, 
and some of them contrived to send word to Millard, that 
Judge Lynch was preparing to sit on his case. Millard 
became alarmed, and he and his companions left in hot 
haste for the West. 

About this time, news of a threatening character came 
from Mexico. Messrs. Karnes and Teel, who had been sent 
as commissioners to see that the terms of the treaty, in 
reference to prisoners, were strictly complied with, had 
been arrested, and detained at Matamoras. They there 
found Major Miller, who had been taken at Copano, just 
before the Fannin Massacre. These prisoners sent word to 
Texas that the Mexicans were making formidable prepara- 
tions for a second invasion of Texas. When this informa- 
tion reached General Rusk, he issued stringent orders, 
revoking all furloughs, and for recruiting the army. Pres- 
ident Burnet issued a proclamation for the enrollment of 
the militia and the increase of the army. It was evident 
that there were Mexican emissaries poisoning the minds of 
the Indians in East Texas ; and as most of these tribes were 
immigrants from the United States, General Gaines was 
appealed to, to preserve the peace ; and he took efficient 
steps to do so. 

This threatened Mexican invasion was prevented by a 
revival of the efforts of the Federal party, now that Santa 
Anna was a prisoner in Texas. When the Texans ascer- 
tained that the Mexicans were not coming against them, 
propositions for the conquest of Matamoras were revived, 
and received the endorsement of the President and his 
Cabinet. But the absence of some of the vessels of the 
navy, which were expected to co-operate in the attack, frus- 
trated this project. 

We have already stated that during the Provisional 
Government, the schooners " Liberty " and " Invincible " 
had been purchased for the navy. After the battle of San 




A MEXICAN JACAL. 



NAVAL OPEEATIONS. 285 

Jacinto, the Liberty conveyed General Houston to Xew 
Orleans, where, after lying at anchor for a considerable 
time, she was sold to defray her expenses. In April, 1836, 
the Invincible, commanded by Captain Jerry Brown, while 
on a cruise near Tampico, fell in with a Mexican war 
schooner, the Montezuma, and brought her to action, which 
lasted several hours, when the latter, in a disabled condi- 
tion, was stranded in attempting to enter the port. The 
Invincible was uninjured, and soon afterward captured the 
American brig Pocket, laden with stores for the Mexican 
army in Texas, and brought her into Galveston with a 
grateful supply for the victors of San Jacinto and their pris- 
oners of war. 

After this valuable service, it was the intention of the 
government that the Invincible should convey Santa Anna 
and suite, and Messrs. Zavalla and Hardeman, the Texas 
Commissioners to negotiate a final treaty with Mexico, to 
Vera Cruz. But this was frustrated by the interference of 
the people. After another successful cruise on the Mex- 
ican coast, the vessel was ordered to K'ew York to be refit- 
ted. Another vessel, the Brutus, Captain William Hurd, 
had also been procured. This vessel was absent, without 
orders, when the Texans were preparing for a descent 
upon Matamoras ; and this frustrated their design, as they 
required the vessel to transport troops and munitions of 
war to the mouth of the Rio Grande. She made her way 
to 'New York. 

During the summer, Major Isaac W. Burton, with a 
company of mounted rangers, occupied the coast near 
Copano. On the 2d of June, they succeeded in decoying 
on shore the boat belonging to a Mexican supply vessel, 
the Watchman, loaded with provisions for the Mexican 
army. She was captured, and while waiting for f^ivorable 
winds to sail to Velasco, two other supply vessels, the 
Comanche, and the Fanny Butler, appeared on the coast, and 
were captured and taken to Velasco. These captures 



286 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

amounted to some twenty-five thousand dollars, and gave 
Burton's men the name of " Horse Marines." 

About the first of June, President Burnet dispatched 
Messrs. James Collins worth and Peter W. Grayson, as Com- 
missioners to the United States, to secure the recognition 
of Texan independence, and establish diplomatic relations 
between the two countries. Messrs. Austin, Archer and 
Wharton, the former Commissioners, after accomplishing 
all in their power, returned to Texas, soon after the great 
battle which secured our independence. When Messrs. 
Collinsworth and Grayson reached Washington, Congress 
had adjourned ; but President Jackson sent Henry M. 
Morfit as Commissioner to inquire into the condition of 
Texas, and report. Mr. Morfit's report estimated the pop- 
ulation at 52,670, '•' 

The country was now com23aratively quiet, and all fears 
of an invasion from Mexico had disappeared. On the 12th 
of July, President Burnet issued a proclamation, prohibit- 
ing the impressment of private property for the use of the 
army, and or. the 14th he revoked all commissions held by 
persons not actually in the army or navy.f 

* The details of this report were as follows . 

Anglo-Aviericans, 30,000 

Mexicans: at San Antonio, 2,000; Nacogdoches, 800; La Bahia, 

(Goliad) 500; Victoria, 120; San Patricio, 50, 3,470 

Indians: Wacoes, 400; Towokonees, 200; Tonkowas, 800; Coshot- 
tees,350; Alabauias, 250; Comanches, 2.000; Cadoes, 500; Lip- 
ans, 900; Small Bands, 800; to which add the civilized Indians, 
Cherokees, Kickapoos, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Pottawotamies, 
Dclawares and Shawnees, 8,000, 14,200 

Negroes, 5,000 

Aggregate 52,670 

j- This last brought the President into a controversy with General T. J. 
Chambers, who had been commissioned by the Executive Council as Major 
General of the reserves, and sent into the United States with a number of 
statr officers. General Chambers was still absent, and he complained that 
the proclamation of the President was intended to revoke his commission 
and arrest his labors. 



MEETING OF CONGRESS. 287 

On the 23cl of July, the President issued his proclama- 
tion for a general election, to take place on the first Monday 
in September, for the election of President, Vice-President 
and members of Congress, under the new Constitution; 
which was also to be voted upon. He also ordered an elec- 
tion to decide whether Texas was willing to be annexed to 
the United States. The Constitution was adopted by an 
almost unanimous vote ; and the vote was equally strong 
for annexation. Sam Houston was elected President, and 
Mirabeau B. Lamar, Vice-President, '^ 

Congress convened at Columbia, on the 3d of October. 
President Burnet's message gave a truthful picture of the 
country and offered valuable suggestions for Congress. 
According to the reports accompanying the message, the 
audited debt of the country then amounted to about $250,- 
000 ; to which was to be added nearly a half million for 
arm}^ supplies, and over a half million due the army and 
navy — making the total public debt about $1,250,000. 

Among the acts of Congress considered necessary to the 
complete organization of Civil Grovernment, was one appoint- 
ing chief justices for the different counties, f 

The Constitution which had been adopted provided that 
the President elect should " enter on the duties of his office 
on the second Monday in December next succeeding his 

* By the proclamation, soldiers were especially authorized to open polls 
at their various camps and vote. There were three candidates voted for : 
Sam Houston received 4,374 votes; Henry Smith 743, and Stephen F. 
Austin 587 ; total 5,704. Lamar had a majority of 2,(399. 

t The following is a list of the original counties and their officers : Austin, 
Thomas Barnnet; Brazoria, George B. McKinstry; Bexar, Joseph Baker; 
Sabine, Matthew Parker; Gonzales, B. D. McClure; Goliad, W. H. Mcln- 
tire; Harrisburg, Andrew Briscoe; Jasper, Joseph Mott; Jefferson, 
Chichester Chap[)lin ; Liberty, D. P. Coats; Matagorda, Silas Diiisinore: 
Mina, Andrew Rabb; Nacogdoches, Charles S. Taylor; Red River, Robert 
Hamilton; Victoria, John McHenry; San Augustine, Wm. McFarland ; 
Shelby, George O. Lusk; Refugio, John Dunn; San Patricio, John Turner; 
Washington, John P. Cole; Milam, Massilon Farley; Jackson, Patrick 
Usher ; Colorado, Wm. Menifee. 



288 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

election." But President Burnet and Vice-president Za val- 
la were more than willing to lay aside their official robes, 
and on the 22d of October, sent in their resignations. These 
were accepted, and Messrs. Houston and Lamar were duly 
inaugurated. "Thus closes our Revolutionary period; a 
period that furnishes the darkest and brightest pages in 
Texas history." 



PART V. 



The Republic. 



PROM 1837 TO 1846. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOtrSTON'S ADMINISTRATION— CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS— LAND LAWS— THE 
NAVY— GOVERNMENT REMOVED TO HOUSTON. 

(iTOUSTON'S First Administration. — After having 
-LJl been formally installed into his new office, and 
having delivered his inaugural address, the new President 
presented to the Speaker of the House his sword, the emblem 
of the military authority with which he had been clothed, 
and said : " It now becomes my duty to make a presenta- 
tion of this sword, the emblem of my past office. I have 
worn it with some humble pretensions in defence of my 
country; and should the danger of my country again call 
for my services, I expect to resume it and respond to that 
call, if needful, with my blood and my life."* 

The question of disposing of Santa Anna had not been 
settled when Houston came into office. The distinguished 
prisoner, after being delivered over to Captain Patton, of 
the army, had been taken first to Columbia and then to 
Orizaba, the residence of Dr. Phelps, a few miles up the 
river. On the 16th of August, the Pasaic, a strange 
schooner, with an unusually large crew, arrived at Colum- 
bia, under the command of a Spaniard, who went up to 
•Orizaba and had an interview with Santa Anna. It was 



* That speech and emblematic act were characteristic of President Houston, 
and liave been noticed by all the historians. But inasmucli as he had relin- 
quished the command of the annyoii tlie 5th of May, when he took his depart- 
m'e for New Orleans, and liad just been re-invested witli the command of 
both the army and navy, the propriety of this highly symbolic act is not very 
apparent. 



292 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

at once suspected that an attempt would be made to rescue 
the prisoner and convey him to sea on this vessel. For 
fear an attempt of that kind would be made, Santa Anna 
was ironed and the guard doubled. This was done with- 
out the sanction of President Burnet. When Congress met 
a resolution was passed requesting that the irons should be 
removed, and it was immediately done. But Congress 
refused to pass a bill to set him at liberty. However, soon 
after that body adjourned, President Houston assumed the 
responsibility of setting the prisoner free. Santa Anna 
and Colonel Almonte, of his staff, and Colonels Bee and 
Patton, of the Texas army, left the Brazos on the 22d of 
December, and proceeded across the country on horseback 
to the Mississippi River, where they took a steamer on 
their w^ay to Washington City. 

A radical change was effected in the judicial system of 
the country. Heretofore, no Supreme Court had been 
organized. During the government ad interim^ one court with 
admiralty jurisdiction had been created andB. C. Franklin 
appointed judge. The Republic was, at the session of the 
first Congress, divided into four districts. The Supreme 
Court was formed by having one chief justice, while the 
district judges acted as associate justices in the higher court. 
These judges were elected by joint ballot of both houses of 
Congress and held their offices for four years. Provision 
was also made for county and magistrate's courts. 

The financial question occupied a large share of attention. 
An ad valorem tax was placed upon property, and to raise 
a revenue by imposts an act was passed, December 20th, 
imposing ad valorem duties of various rates, from one to 
iifty per cent., and a tonnage duty of |1.25 per ton. Other 
acts authorized the President to borrow various amounts ; 
but, as he received no propositions which he deemed it 
advisable to accept, these brought no relief to the 
exhausted treasury. 

Destitute as the country was of available means, Congress 




OLD CAPITOL. HOUSTON. 



Houston's administration. 295 

was very liberal in its appropriations. On the 15th of 
December, a bill passed appropriating $150,000 for the 
use of the navy; $700,000 for the army; and $150,000 
for the executive and civil departments. This bill still left 
the suj^port of the diplomatic agents of the government to 
be provided for. 

As General Rusk had taken a place in the Cabinet, the 
command of the army was given to General Felix Pluston. 
Huston reported to the Secretary of War on the 16th of 
December, that the army consisted of about seven hundred 
enlisted men for the period of the war, and eighty who had 
six months longer to serve. The troops had neither flour 
nor bread ; beef-cattle were in abundance on the prairies, 
but they had no horses to drive them up. They had 
likewise a good supply of ammunition, but were without 
flints. By resolution of the Congress, General James 
Hamilton, of South Carolina, was invited to take command 
of the army ; but he respectfully declined the office. 

In the early part of 1837, Filisola was stationed on the 
Rio Grande to organize another expedition for the invasion 
of Texas ; but fortunately the revolution under Moctezuma 
furnished employment for Mexican troops at home. Texas 
being in no immediate danger of invasion from Mexico, by 
order of Houston the soldiers were permitted to go home 
on furlough ; and the country was saved the expense of 
keeping so large a body of men unemployed in the field. 

As we have seen, one of the first acts of the Executive 
Council at San Felipe in 1835, was to close the land office 
and suspend the issuance of land titles. The new consti- 
tution directed that the public land should be "sectionized," 
instead of being laid off^ in leagues and labors, after the 
Spanish land system. The old Texans, whose tracts were 
in leagues, opposed the new plan, and it was not adopted- 
Congress, however, passed a general land law, requiring 
the land office to be opened on the 1st of June, 1837, and 
remain open six months for the special benefit of citizens 
18 



296 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

who had not obtained their huid under the colonization 
laws, and for volunteers who had served a term in the 
army. It further provided '^ that every free white person, 
head of a family, who should arrive in the Republic from 
and after January 1, 1837, should be entitled to 1,280 acres 
of land, and every single free white man, 640 acres, to be 
increased to 1,280 acres in case of marriage ; but patents 
not to be granted till after they had been three years 
resident. This bill was vetoed by the President, but 
promptly passed over the veto by the constitutional ma- 
jority. 

On the 16th of December, a bill was passed " to incorpo- 
rate the Texas Railroad, IS'avigation and Banking Com- 
pany," with a capital stock of five millions of dollars, to be 
increased if desirable to ten millions. This company was 
authorized to connect the waters of the Sabine and Rio 
Grande rivers by means of internal navigation, with the 
privilege of constructing branch canals and branch railroads 
in every direction, and to an unlimited extent ; and if the 
company could have carried out their grand programme, 
the whole public domain of the State would have passed 
into their hands. '^ 

The general land law, which was to have gone into opera- 
tion June 1, 1837, was suspended first until October 1, and 
was subsequently indefinitely suspended. Finally, on the 
14th of December, a general land law was adopted. Under 
this law " a Commissioner of the general land office was 
provided for; also, a Board of Commissioners for each 



*Mr. Gouge, in his fiscal history of Texas, says the whole amount of stock 
was subscribed by eight iudivi(hials and tirnis. and tliongh none of them paid 
anything in, some made money out of the charter. One of the stockliohiers 
sold out his interest to a gentleman of New York for thirty thousand dollars, 
and received his pay in store goods. The successful salesman bought out rhe 
interest of another' for ten thousand dollars, and another disposed of his 
interest for three leagues of land, which he subsequently sold for two dollars 
and a half an acre. 



FRAUDS IN THE LAND OFFICE. 297 

county, to take proof and issue headrights ; and a surveyor 
for each county, to survey, and make out and record field 
notes. These field notes, with the certificate, to be returned 
to the General Land Office, examined, located on the map 
of lands, and, if found correct, on vacant lands, a grant of 
patent, signed by the President and countersigned by the 
Commissioner, passing under both their seals, issues to the 
party in the name of the State. Should the party's claim 
be for military services, he obtained his warrant from the 
War ofiice, and proceeded to locate as a headright certifi- 
cate. So, likewise, in regard to land scrip, the same course 
was to be pursued." By this bill, which was vetoed by the 
President, and passed over the veto, the Land Office was to 
be opened for old settlers and soldiers on the first Thursday 
in February, 1838, and for other parties, six months later.* 
When Houston was inaugurated, the navy was in no 
condition to render valuable service to the Government, 
either in protecting the coast or conducting offensive war- 
fare. The Livincible and the Brutus were in Xew York for 
repairs, and would probably have shared the fate of the 

* Under tliis law, fraudulent claims were successfully passed through the 
formalities necessary to secure titles, and no little criticism was indulged in 
as to its provisions. Anson Jones, who was a member of the SenatCj'^says : 
" Tlie law, though objectionable, was the best that could have been pa«sed. 
under the circumstances, at that time, without conflicting \vith equitable 
rights that had grown up under former legislation. * * Everybody of 
ordinary sagacity knew there would be frauds committed the momeiit a 
Land Office was opened in Texas. It took no prophet to tell that. It would 
have taken all the Prophets, and the Apostles to boot, to tell us how fr;iud 
was to be prevented in Texas land matters. The greatest fault, after all. 
that can be found with this bill is that it did not prevent "perjury," for, 
aside from perjury, which no law can stop, few evils have grown out of it."' 
Commenting upon the same law, D. G. Burnet says: "The acquisition of 
land has ever constituted a too prominent feature in the Anglo-American 
settlement of Texas. Iniquitous frauds! have been resorted to in gratifica- 
tion of this inordinate passion. It is difficult, by legislation, to circumscribe 
the chicane of land speculators. Their ingenious avidity will find means 
to circumvent the most stringent enactments." Our readers will bear in 
mind that these strictures were passed before the railroad system of Texas 
had been fully developed. 



298 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Liberty, in New Orleans, and been sold to defray their 
expenses, but Henry Swartwout, the Collector of the Port, 
generously stepped forward and furnished the means out of 
his private purse, to refit the ships, and prepare them for a 
cruise. When they arrived in Galveston Captain H. L. 
Thompson was placed in command of the Invincible, and 
Captain I. D. Boylan of the Brutus. During the administra- 
tion of President Burnet, another vessel, the Independence, 
Captain Charles E. Hawkins, commander, had been pur- 
chased and put in commission. In 1837, Captain George 
W. Wheelwright became commander of the Independence, 
During the month of April, the Invincible and the Brutus, 
accompanied by Hon. S. Rhodes Fisher, Secretary of the 
^avj, started for a cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. 

During this month, April, 1837, Yoakum, in his history 
of Texas, pages 212 and 213, volume 2, says : 

" The appearance of the Mexican fleet in the Gulf was followed by some 
damage to Texas. The Champion, freighted with provisions, etc., for tlie 
army, was taken by the enemy; and also on the 12th of April the Jt/h's 
Cossar, whose cargo was valued at $30,000. President Houston had pre- 
viously issued an order for the release of the Mexican prisoners; but, 
learning that those on board the captured vessels had been taken into Mat- 
amoras and confined, he revoked the order of release. 

"This blockading navy of the enemy necessarily came in contact with the 
commerce of the United States, and the Mexican brig of war Urrea, having 
captured some. American vessels and property, was taken by the United 
States sloop-of-war Natchez and sent into Pensacola as a pirate. On the 
17th of April, the Texan schooner Independence, having a crew of thirty-one 
men, besides several passengers, among whom was William H. Wharton, 
on his return from his mission to the United States, Avas met about thirty 
miles from Velasco by two Mexican brigs-of-war, the Libertador, having 
sixteen eighteen-pounders and one hundred and forty men, and the Vincednr 
del Alamo carrying six twelves and one long eightcen-pounder and one 
hundred men. After a severe tight, in which the Texans behaved most 
gallantly, the /;K/e/>eHrfertce was overpowered and taken into Brazos San- 
tiago, Av hence the crew and passengers were transferred to Matanioras and 
confined. In this engagement, Captain Wheelwright, of the Independence, 
was severely wounded. The Texan navy, on leaving Galveston in May, 
proceeded to the mouth of the Mississippi, but failing to find any of the 
enemy there after a cruise of seven or eig-ht days, turned to the coast of 
Mexico. The Texans made some small prizes about the island of Mugeres, 
and thence proceeded to Yucatan, where they cannonaded the town of Sisal 



NAVAL AFFAIRS. 299 

for some three hours, but with little effect. The Texan schooner Invincible 
took and sent into port as a prize the Mexican schooner Obispo, of eighty 
tons ; and the Brutus captured and sent in the schooner Telegraph. The 
Texans also made repeated landings along the coast, and burnt eight or nine 
\owns. This, though sufficiently annoying to the enemy, and in accordance 
with their mode of warfare, has not been considered, in modern times, as 
the most humane way of conducting a war. Another vessel, the Eliza 
Russel, of one hundred and eighty tons, belonging to English subjects, 
which was taken by the Invincible off the Alicranes and brought into Gal- 
veston, not being freighted with a contraband cargo, was afterwards properlj 
restored, with damages, by the Kepublic." 

Page 216, volume 2, the same historian says : 

'' Colonel John H. Wharton, desirous of making an effort to release his 
brother from the prison of Matamoras, obtained permission and a flag, and 
proceeded with thirty Mexican prisoners to that town to make an exchange, 
but on landing he was made a prisoner and confined in a dungeon. After an 
imprisonment of six days he made his escape and returned to Texas. In 
the meantime his brother, William H. Wharton, through the aid of the well- 
known Captain Thompson of the Mexican navy, also escaped and reached 
home. It was intended that Thompson should desert the enemy's service 
and leave with him ; but Thompson's departure was precipitated by some 
information given to the Mexican authorities, and he arrived in Texas before 
either of the Whartons. This barbarous conduct on the part of the enemy 
induced the President of Texas to readmit the granting of letters of marque 
and reprisal against them, which he had suspended on liis entrance into 
office. 

'' On the 25th of August, the Brut^is and the Invincible arrived off the 
bar at Galveston, having in tow a Mexican armed schooner, which they had 
captured near the banks of Campeachy. On the same evening the Brutus 
and the prize entered the harbor, but the Invincible could not get in. On 
tlie following morning the latter was attacked by two of the enemy's armed 
bi'igs. The Brutus, in attempting to go out to her aid, ran aground ; so the 
Invincible was obliged to continue the unequal contest alone during the day; 
towards evening she attempted a retreat, but struck on the breakers near 
the south-east channel. The crew landed in safety, but during the night 
the vessel went to pieces. The Invincible was a favorite craft in the Texan 
navv, and her loss much regretted." 

The last remaining vessel of the old navy, the Brutus, 
was lost during the equinoctial gale of 1837, in the harbor 
of Galveston ; at which time fourteen or fifteen vessels then 
in port were destroyed or seriously injured, and nearly the 
entire city flooded by the water of the bay in its exit before 



300 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

a sudden norther, just after having been filled by a strong 
south-east gale of several days continuance. 

After a three-months' laborious session at Columbia, the 
first session of the Congress of Texas adjourned to meet at 
the newly laid out city of Houston, on the oth of May. 

On the 2d of March, 1837, the Congress of the United 
States passed the bill recognizing the independence of 
Texas ; and during the next year commercial treaties were 
negotiated with France and Great Britain, though the latter 
insisted upon considering Texas as a part of the Mexican 
Republic. 

Notwithstanding the Mexican invasion in 1836, and the 
absence of so many farmers in the army, the season was 
favorable, and good crops were made. The year 1837 was- 
also a good crop year. It was estimated that the cotton 
crop amounted to fifty thousand bales. A heavy tide of 
immigration was setting towards Texas, and a profitable 
commerce carried on at its principal seaports. There was 
reirular steam communication with T^ew Orleans, and a fine 
class of sail vessels between New York and the Texas 
coast. Towns were multiplying with great rtipidity, and 
the prospect was encouraging for the future. 

Under the Constitution, the first President held office 
only two years ; though after the first term the Presidential 
term was three years. At the election held September 3d^ 
1838, Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected President, and David 
G. Burnet Vice President.* 

♦During the summer, two of the gentlemen most prominent as candidates 
for President took themselves out of the canvass by suicide. (See James 
Colliiisworth and Peter W. Grayson). Tiie following were the votes cast 
at the election : For President, Lamar, 6,995 ; for Robert Wilson, 252 ; total 
7,247. For Vice President, D. G Burnet, 3,952; A. C. Hoi'ton, 1,917: 
Joseph Rowe, 1,215. 

The following were the principal officers during thi^ Presidential term: 
S. F. Austin, R. A. Irwin, and J. Pinckney Henderson, Secretaries of 
State; Thomas J. Rusk, AVilliam S.Fisher, Bernard E. Bee, George W. 
Hockley, Secret:iries of War; Henry Smith, Secretary of tiie Treasury; S. 
Rhodes Fisher, William M. Shepperd, Secretaries of the Navy; J. Pinckney 



LIST OF OFFICERS. 301 

Henderson, Peter W. Grayson, John Birdsall, A. S. Thurston, Attorney 
Generals; Robert Burr, Post Master General; E. M. Pease, Francis R. 
Lubbock, Comptrollers; John W. Moody, First Auditor ; J. G. Welshinger, 
Second Auditor; William G. Cooke, Stock Commissioner; "William H. 
Wharton, Memucan Hunt, Anson Jones, Ministers to the United States ; J. 
Pinckney Henderson, Minister to Great Britain and France ; W F. Catlett, 
Secretary of Leofation to the United States; George S. Mcintosh, Secretary 
of Legation to Great Britain aud France. 



CHAPTER II. 

LAMAR'S ADMINISTRATION— TROUBLE AT NACOGDOCHES— A NEW NATT— AUSTIN 
SELECTED AS THE PERMANENT CAPITOL— NEW COLONIES— REPUBLIC OP THE RIO 
GRANDE— SANTA FE EXPEDITION— ITS MISCARRIAGE, AND THE CAUSES. 

"T amar's Administration. — G-eneral Lamar was formal- 
-L^ ly inaugurated on the 10th of December, 1838. The 
ceremonies occurred in front of the Capitol, Houston, in 
the presence of an immense concourse of people, who were 
delighted with the sentiments expressed by the incoming 
Executive. In his inaugural he said : " The character of 
my administration may be anticipated in the domestic 
nature of our government and the peaceful habits of the 
people Looking upon agriculture, commerce, and the 
useful arts, as the true basis of all National strength and 
glory, it will be my leading policy to awaken into vigorous 
activity the wealth, talent, and enterprise of the country ; 
and, at the same time, to lay the foundation of those higher 
institutions for moral and mental culture without which no 
government on democratic principles can prosper, nor the 
people long preserve their liberties." 

The President took ground against the annexation of 
Texas to the United States, and in his regular message 
strongly advocated a National bank, and a system of pop- 
ular and liberal education. It was during his administra- 
tion that Congress laid the foundation of our school fund, 
by setting aside fifty leagues of land for a university, and 
three leagues for each county in the Republic. 

In the summer of 1838, a considerable number of the 
Mexican citizens of Nacogdoches — Captain Antonio Man- 
chaca, who visited them, said 125 and a few Biloxi Indians 




MIBABEAU B. LAMAR. 



lamae's administration. 305 

— being dissatisfied with the government of Texas, went 
into camp on the Angelina river, without any very well 
defined purpose. On the assembling of a small military 
force these Mexicans dispersed. Some of them returned 
to their homes ; but Yincente Cordova, the leader, lied 
westward with a few followers, and entered into a cor- 
respondence with Filisola, the Mexican commander on the 
Rio Grande. Early in 1839, Canalizo succeeded Filisola 
in command at Matamoras. He immediately dispatched 
Manuel Flores to co-operate with Cordova in rousing the 
prairie Indians to hostilities against the Texans. These 
Indians were exhorted not to cease to harass the Texans 
for a single day ; to burn their habitations and lay waste 
their fields ; and by rapid and well-concerted movements, 
to draw their attention in every direction ; and the Indians 
were informed that Mexico would soon be in a condition to 
re-establish her authority over Texas ; and then they should 
have their lands ; but assuring them that they need expect 
nothing from these greedy adventurers for land, who wish- 
ed to deprive the Indians of the sun that warms and 
vivifies them, and who would not cease to injure them while 
the grass grows and water runs." The Texans having 
heard of Cordova's movements. General Burleson, in March, 
raised a small company of volunteers, and found and defeat- 
ed him on the Guadalupe river, near Seguin. Cordova 
escaped, but left his usual haunts, and Flores failed to find 
him. Flores went east, in hopes of finding Cordova, and 
when near the present city of Austin he was discovered by 
Lieutenant James 0. Rice, with a party of Rangers. Flores 
and two of his companions were killed, and his instructions 
captured. This broke up the Indio-Mexican league, that 
seriously threatened at one time to do much mischief t(^ 
the country. 

In Xo^^mber, 1838, Congress passed a law for the crea- 
tion of a new navy. Samuel M. Williams was appointed 
by President Houston to make the purchase. A contract 



306 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

was made with Frederick Dawson, of Baltimore, for one 
ship, two brio;s and three schooners. In March, 1839, 
General Hamilton, of South Carolina, purchased for the 
government the steamer Charleston, (afterward the Za val- 
la). Mr. Dawson delivered, during the same year, the 
schooners San Jacinto, San Bernard and San Antonio ; and 
the brigs Colorado and Dolphin, and the sloop of war 
Austin. 

There being no demand for these ships on the Texas 
coast, they were placed in the service of the revolutionary 
government of Yucatan ; that government to defray all 
expenses, and render other compensation to Texas. '=' 

There always had been a strong party opposed to the 
location of the seat of government at the city of Houston ; 
and by an act of Congress, approved January 14, 1839, 
commissioners were appointed to select another location. 
The village of Waterloo, on the Colorado, was chosen. It 
was sufficiently near the geographical center of the State ; 
but was then on the extreme frontier, and exposed to incur- 
sions of the Comanche and other tribes of prairie Indians. 
The new site was appropriately named Austin.-\ The city 

* The following is a list of the vessels and their armament and officers, 
as tliey left Galveston harbor on the 24th of Jnne, 1840, for the coast of 
Yncatan: Sloop Austin, 20 guns, Commodore E W.Moore; steamship 
Zavalla, 8 guns, Captain J. K. T. Lathrop; schooner San Jacinto, 5 guns, 
Lieutenant W. R. Postell; schooner San Bernard, 5 guns. Lieutenant W. 
S. Williamson; schooner San Antonio, 5 guns. Lieutenant Alexander 
Moore; and brig Dolphin, — guns, Lieutenant John Rudd. 

t Albert C. Horton, Lewis P. Cook, Isaac W. Burton, William Menifee 
and J. Campbell, were the commissioners to select the location. Edwin 
Waller was the agent to lay off the city and locate the different public 
buildings. Austin has had a severe struggle to retain the government. 
General Houston was bitterly opposed to the location ; and in 1842, removed 
the executive departments to Houston. This was in March. In October 
the President called an extra session of Congress in Washington ; where the 
government remained until July, 1845, when the Annexation Convention 
asspm])Ied in Austin. It became the seat of government. In 1850, by a 
popular vote, Austin was chosen the capital for twenty years. The places 
voted for were Austin, 7,674; Palestine, 1,854; Tehuacany, 1.143 and some 
scattering. In 1872 it was perinanently located at the same place, Austin 
receiving G3,297 votes; Houston, 35,188; Waco, 12,776, and a few scattering. 



NEW COLONIES. 307 

was promptly laid out ; lots sold, and buildings erected for 
the accommodation of the various departments of the gov- 
ernment. These buildings were in such a state of prepara- 
tion that by the first of October, the President and heads 
of departments removed to the new capital. 

To induce a more rapid settlement of the Republic, Con- 
o-ress grave encouras^ement to the introduction of new 
colonies. In 1841-42, W. S. Peters took two contracts, 
eno-ao-ino: to introduce 800 families into the fine region of 
country around Dallas. Fisher & Miller took a contract 
for settling 600 families on the Upper Colorado and Llano 
riA^ers ; C. F. Mercer, two contracts for settling 600 fam- 
ilies in the region of country above the Peters colony, 
towards Red river. A German Emigration Company set- 
tled Comal and Gillespie counties ; and Henry Castro intro- 
duced about 600 families into Western Texas, settling 
Castroville in 1844 ; Quihi in 1845 ; Vandenburg in 1846, 
and Dhanis in 1847. 

We have not attempted to keep our readers advised of 
the changes constantly taking place among our trans-Rio 
Grande neighbors. But in 1839 a revolution occurred in 
which not a few of the Texas soldiers participated. The 
disbanding of the army left many ready for any enterprise 
that promised excitement, and congenial employment. It 
was natural that the Republicans in Mexico should look to 
Texas for sympathy and support. During the summer a 
considerable number of Republicans assembled at Lipan- 
titlan, on the west side of the Nueces river. President 
Lamar issued a proclamation ordering them to disperse. 
But little attention was paid to the order. Among the 
Mexican leaders the most noted were General Lie. Antonio 

Canalis and Colonels Jose Maria Gonzales and Zapata. 

Among the Americans the principal were Colonels S. AV. 
Jordan and Reuben Ross. The "Republic of the Rio 
Grande" was formally proclaimed, and a military organiza- 
tion effected. The force, including 180 Texans, amounted 



308 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

to about 600 men. They left Lipantitlan on the 20th of 
September, and crossed the Rio Grande on the 30th. Their 
first point of attack was Guerrero, three miles from the 
river, occupied by General Parbon, of the Centralist arm3^ 
Parbon retreated, without offering to fight, to Alcantra, 
near Mier. Here he was overtaken by the Republicans on 
the 3d of October, when a severe battle was fought. Early 
in the engagement the Indians and rancheros in Canalis' 
ranks became demoralized, and the Texans had to bear the 
brunt of the battle. The Centralists, after losing about 
150 of their men, retreated, leaving the Republicans masters 
of the field. Their loss in killed was 14. After this 
recruits flocked to their standard, but Canalis, instead of 
availing himself of the enthusiasm which this victory had 
kindled, remained for two months inactive. Finally, on 
the 12th of December, he moved down the river with 1,000 
men, and laid siege to Matamoras. The siege was not very 
vigorously prosecuted; but on the 15th a skirmish took 
place in which fifteen Centralists were killed. The city was 
strongly fortified and well garrisoned and provisioned. It 
had a garrison of 1,500 regulars, under General Canalize. 
On the 16th, Canalis, at a council of his officers, announced 
his intention to abandon the siege. This offended the 
Texans, and Colonel Ross with about fifty of his men returned 
to their homes. 

Canalis retired towards Monterey. Arriving within six 
miles of that city, his troops found themselves suddenly con- 
fronted by an army of 2,000, under General Arista. This was 
December 24th. After some skirmishes and manojuvres, in 
which the Texans thought Canalis exhibited a conspicuous 
want of generalship, the intriguing Arista succeeded in 
detaching a large number of the Mexicans from Canalis' 
ranks to his own, where the pay was more certain. Jordan, 
with the Texans, and a few faithful Mexicans, retreated 
towards the Rio Grande, crossing that stream on the 7th 
of January. 



SUSPICIOUS OPERATIONS. 309 

Canalis, not at all disheartened, coll.ected a few of his 
followers, and called a convention at Guerrero, January 28. 
Jordan rejoined him at Presidio, but not^ liking the pros- 
pect, remained only a few days. Arista, being fully posted 
as to the movements of the Republicans, attacked and de- 
feated Canalis at Moralis, on the 15th of March. Canalis, 
with a portion of his men, escaped to Texas, and unfurled 
the banner of the Republic of the Rio Grande, at San Pa- 
tricio. Here he was joined by Jordan, with 110 men; 
William S. Fisher, with 200 ; and John N. Seguin, with 100. 
Including about 300 Rancheros, the whole force amounted 
to 700. 

For some unaccountable reason. Colonel Jordan, with 260 
men, was dispatched, in advance of the main body, with 
two Mexican officers for guides. With very little oppo- 
sition, this comparatively small party occupied successively 
the towns of Guerrero, Mier, Comargo, Tula, Morallo, Li- 
nares, and finally Victoria, the capital of the State of Tamau- 
lipas. Jordan strongly suspected that his Mexican guides 
were seeking an opportunity to betray him and his men 
into the hands of the Centralists. This was nearly accom- 
plished, near Saltillo, on the 23d of October. The Repub- 
licans were confronted by a Centralist army numbering over 
1,000 men, with two nine-pounders, under the command of 
Vasques. As soon as the battle opened, the suspected offi- 
cers deserted to the Centralists with their companies. The 
Texans, however, maintained the fight, killing (by estima- 
tion), 400 of the enemy. They lost of their number, five 
killed and seven wounded. Jordan and* his party returned 
to Texas. 

The subsequent conduct of Canalis created a suspicion 
that, in dividing his force, and dividing the small party of 
Texans, and sending Jordan into the interior without sup- 
port, he acted in bad faith. A majority of the troops were 
Texans, and he perhaps feared that should they succeed in 
gaining important advantages, he would be displaced from 



310 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the command, and one of the Texan officers promoted. At 
any rate, after the departure of Jordan, though Canalis cross- 
ed the Rio Grande, he remained comparatively inactive, and 
finally, at Comargo, surrendered his entire force to Arista. 
It is to his credit that in the surrender he stipulated for the 
lives and liberty of the Texans in his ranks. Thus ended 
the attempt to establish the " Rej^ublic of the Rio G-rande." 
But this organization, for the time, gave emplo^'ment to the 
Mexican army under Arista, and so prevented an invasion 
of Texas. 

The Texans claimed the Rio Grande as the southwestern 
T^oundary of the Republic, but no attempt had as yet been 
made to extend the laws over that portion of Santa Fe 
lying on the Texas side of the river. Between St. Louis 
and the city of Santa Fe, a lucrative trade was springing 
up, which the Texans were anxious to divert to their own 
gulf ports. To open communication with that distant 
region, an expedition to Santa Fe was projected in 1841. 
The object of this expedition, as announced by President 
Lamar in his proclamation, was to have a friendly inter- 
view with the authorities of the State, and if they were 
willing to come under the laws of Texas, arrangements 
would be entered into to extend our laws over that territo- 
ry; but if the people were averse- to this, he wished to 
establish friendly commercial relations with the people of 
New Mexico. For protection through the Indian country, 
a military organization was effected, and placed under com- 
mand of General Hugh M'Leod. It consisted of five com- 
panies of mounted infantry, and one of artillery — 270 
soldiers. The President sent Messrs. William G. Cooke, 
R. F. Brenham, and Don J. A. Navarro, as commissioners, 
who were chari>-ed to so conduct the neiiiotiations as to 
accomplish the purposes of the Government in sending out 
the expedition. There were also about fifty traders, team- 
sters and adventurers. The commander was instructed 
not to attempt a subjugation of the people by arms. 



KIOWA S ATTACK THE EXPEDITION. 311 

The expedition started from the neighborhood of G-eorge- 
town on Brushy, on the 20th of June, 1841. Many diffi- 
<3ulties were encountered, from the very start ; and from 
Little River, they sent back for more beef cattle. The 
guides were not well acquainted with the route, and after 
wandering about for some time, finally mistook the Wichita 
for Red river, and got lost in the Wichita mountains. Pro- 
visions gave out, water was scarce, the Indians trouble- 
some, horses were stolen, and occasionally men that strag- 
gled oif from their companions were killed. On the 11th 
of August, Messrs. Howland, Baker and Rosenbury were 
sent forward to procure supplies. A few days later, the 
main party fell in with a large band of Kiowa Indians. 
Lieutenant Hull and four men being a short distance from 
the others, were attacked by these Indians, and after des- 
perate fighting, in which a dozen Indians were killed, they 
were overpowered and slain. Lieutenant Hull had no less 
than thirty lance and arrow wounds. They were then on 
the Quintufue, a branch of the Palo Duro river. After 
this, a consultation of officers was held, and it was deter- 
mined to divide the command, sending forward to the settle- 
ments for provisions. "Those best able to travel," says 
Kendall, " were detailed by Greneral M'Leod to march in 
advance, and were placed under command of Captain Sut- 
ton, an excellent officer. The party consisted of eighty-seven 
officers and privates, with merchants, travellers, and servants 
enouo-h to swell the number to ninetv-nine. Anion o- the 
officers were Captain Lewis, Lieutenants Lubbock, Munson, 
Brown, and Sea v}^ the latter acting as Adjutant. Theciv- 
illians were Colonel Cooke, Dr. Brenham, Major Howard, 
Messrs. Van Ness, Fitzgerald, Frank Combs, and myself." 
This party left M'Leod on the 31st of August, and arrived 
at Anton Chico, a village on the Galinas, a tributary of the 
Rio Grrande, on the 10th of September. Here an ample 
supply of provisions were obtained, and on the 14th, Cap- 
tain Lewis, with Kendall, Van Ness, and some others, 



312 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

started for San Miguel. They had heard that Howland and 
his companions had been taken prisoners, but did not doubt 
that when the authorities understood the peaceful objects 
of the mission, all would be well. In this they were sadly 
mistaken. 

It seems unaccountably strange, that the Texans, after 
the experience of 1836, should have acted with so little 
caution. Although they heard that the Governor was hos- 
tile to their enterprise, no word was sent back either to 
M'Leod, or to the more advanced party at Anton Chico. 
When Kendall and his party arrived at a small village 
called Cuesta, they were met by a party of Mexicans, under 
Don Salezar, a military officer. The men were disarmed, 
and their papers and valuables taken from them, with the 
assurance, however, that they would soon all be returned. 
Disarmed and robbed, they were marched as prisoners into 
San Miguel. Howland and his party, for an attempt, or an 
alleged attempt, to escape, were barbarously shot. In the 
meantime, it was observed that Lewis w^as becoming quite 
intimate with the Mexican officers. The result was, that 
LoAvis, one of their trusted officers, turned traitor, and plot- 
ted the capture of the party at Anton Chico, with Cooke, 
and those with M'Leod, who was then at the Laguna Colo- 
rado, some forty miles distant. These unfortunate men, 
after being disarmed and plundered, were tied in compa- 
nies of four and six, and marched first to San Miguel, 
thence to Santa Fe, and finally to the city of Mexico, and 
confined in the prisons of St. Jago, Puebla, and Perote, 
where they languished for nearly two years. A few, at the 
solicitation of influential friends, were released ; and among 
them, Kendall, the historian of the expedition. Senor 
Navarro, however, being an object of special hostility, was 
confined in the castle of San Juan D'Ulloa, until the revo- 
lution of 1844, when he, too, was set at liberty. ]\Ir. Ken- 
dall gives the following reasons for the failure of the expe- 
dition : 




1M 



!li!!l. 



lii' 


'II 


Ii 

1 •■ 



lllilM 



REASONS FOR THE FAILURE. 315 

'• And what mistake had brought this sorrowful issue to our enterprise ? 
In as few words as possible, I will answer the question. In the iSrst place, 
the expedition began its march too late in the season by at least six weeks. 
Had it left Austin on the first of May, the grass would have been much 
better, and we should have had little difficulty in finding good water both 
for ourselves and our cattle. In the second place, we were disappointed 
in obtaining a party of Lipan Indians for guides, and were consequently 
obliged to take a route some three hundred miles out of our way, and in 
many places extremely difficult of travel. Thirdly, the Government of 
Texas did not furnish wagons and oxen enough to transport the goods of 
the merchants, and this, as a matter of course, caused tedious delays. 
Fourthly, cattle enough on the hoof were not provided, even with the sec- 
ond supply sent by the commissioners from Little river. Again, the distance 
was vastly greater than we had anticipated, in our widest and wildest cal- 
culations; owing to which circumstance, and an improvident waste of 
provisions while in the buflTalo range, we found ourselves upon scant allow- 
ance in the middle of our long journey— a privation which weakened, dis- 
pirited and rendered the men unfit for duty. The Indians also annoyed us 
much, by their harrassing and continual attempts to cut off small parties 
and steal our horses. Finally, the character of the Governor of New Mex- 
ico, was far from being understood, and his power was underrated by all. 
The General's estimate of the views and feelings of the people of Santa Fe 
and the vicinity, was perfectly correct; not a doubt can exist that they all 
were and are anxious to throw off the yoke of Armijo, and come under the 
liberal institutions of Texas. But the Governor found us divided into 
small parties, broken down by long marches and want of food; he discov- 
ered a traitor among us, too, and taking advantage of these circumstances, 
his course was plain and his conquest easy. Far different would have been 
the result, had the expedition reached the confines of New Mexico a month 
earlier, and in a body. Then, with fresh horses, and a sufficiency of pro- 
visions for the men, the feelings of the inhabitants would have been differ- 
ent. The proclamation of General Lamar would have been distributed 
among them ; the people would have had an opportunity to come over to 
Texas without fear, and the feeble opposition Armijo could have made, and 
I doubt whether he would have made any against the Texans in a body, 
could have been put down with ease. Had it been evident that a majority 
of the inhabitants were satisfied under their present government, and un- 
friendly to a union with Texas, then the goods would have been sold and 
the force withdrawn ; at least, such was the tenor of the proclamation. No 
attack would have been made upon the inhabitants— that was expressly 
understood. But had Armijo seen fit to commence hostilities, his power in 
New Mexico would have been at an end. Fate decreed otherwise, a:id by 
a series of unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, the expedition was 
thrown into his hands." 



19 



316 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

During the year 1840, France and Belgium recognized 
the independence of Texas. 

Toward the Indian tribes, the policy of General Lamar 
was diametrically opposed to that of his predecessor. While 
General Houston sought to conciliate them with kind treat- 
ment, Lamar thought they should be excluded from our 
territory, and proposed, if necessary, to mark the bounda- 
ries of the Republic with the sword. There was then, as 
there has been ever since, a difference of opinion as to 
which was the true policy. * 

Financially, the administration of Mr. Lamar was not a 
success, though his most bitter opponent n?ver accused 
either the President or the members of his cabinet of dis- 
honesty ; (and the same remark is true of all the Presidents 
of the Republic and the members of their cabinets respect- 
ively). The public credit w^as low and declining when 
Lamar was inaugurated, and continued rapidly to grow 
worse. Under the administration of Houston the salaries 
of officers had been fixed exorbitantly high — the President's 
at $10,000, and the members of his cabinet at $3,500 each ; 
and this at a period when the whole population was less 
than 50,000, and the ability of the Republic to maintain 
its independence quite problematical. To add to the bur- 
dens of the incoming administration, a new navy had been 
contracted for, and no means provided to defray the expense 
of purchase. The revenue was small — the annual expenses 
enormous — and it is not to be wondered at that treasury 
notes — called red-backs, from the color of the paper upon 
which they were printed — should have declined, in the 
three years, from seventy cents to twenty cents or even less, 
on the dollar. Nominally, the expense of the Government 
for the year 1841 was $1,176,288. The public debt 



*See Part VII for a sketch of the various Indian tribes, and their battle;: 
with the whites. 



OFFICERS OF THE REPUBLIC. 317 

increased during the three years from $1,877,525 to 
17,300,000. * 

The cares and responsibilities of office weighed heavily 
on President Lamar, and the severe strictures of political 
opponents affected his deeply sensitive nature, and he 
applied to Congress for permission to absent himself from 
the Republic. The request was granted, and during the 
last year the Government was administered by Vice-Pres- 
ident Burnet.f 



*Mr. Gouge, in his Fiscal History, says the average amount of expenses 
per annum, during Lamar's administration, was $1,618,405; while the aver- 
age in the succeeding administration of Houston was only $170,361 ; and 
adds, this diiference is owing in part only to the differences in tlie charac- 
ter of the men who presided over the Government. President Lamar, as a 
paper-money man, was profuse on principle. He knew no limit on expend- 
iture but the limit of credit. President Houston, as somewhat of a hard- 
money man, was more inclined to economy. But if Houston had been 
Chief Magistrate from 1839 to 1842, he could have restricted but in part 
the expenditures of those years. And if Lamar had succeeded liira, he 
would have been compelled, from the force of circumstances, to be, in some 
■degree, economical. 

t During this Administration the following gentlemen filled various 
offices, at home and abroad: Bernard E. Bee, James Webb, Abner S. Lips- 
comb, James S. Mayfield, Samuel A. Koberts, Secretaries of State; A. 
Sydney Johnston, Branch T. Archer, Secretaries of War; Richard (I. Dun- 
lap, James H. Starr, J. G. Chalmers, Secretaries of the Treasury ; Memu- 
can Hunt and Louis P. Cooke, Secretaries of the Navy ; J. C. AVatrous, 
, James Webb and F. A. Morris, Attorney Generals; Robert Burr, Edwin 
Waller and John R. Jones, Post Master-Generals ; Asa Brigham and James 
W. Simmons, Treasurers ; James W. Simmons and James B. Shaw, Comp 
trollers; Jown W. Moody and Charles Mason, First Auditors; MusgDve 
Evans, Second Auditor; John P. Borden and Thomas William Ward, Com- 
missioners of General Land Office ; Thomas R. Stiff, Jackson Smith, Joseph 
Moreland and Charles de Morse, Stock Commissioners; Richard G. Dun- 
Jap and Barnard E. Bee, Ministers to the Unit(?d States; James Hamilton, 
Minister to Great Britain; William Henry Dangerfield and George S. Mc- 
intosh, Ministers to France ; Bernard E. Bee and James Webb, Ministers 
and Agents to Mexico ; M. Austin Bryan, Samuel A. Roberts and Nathaniel 
Amory, Secretaries of Legation to the United States; George L. Hamrae- 
ken, Secretary of Legation to Mexico; James Hamilton, Commissioner to 
treat with Holland, Belgium, Great Britain and France; Samuel M. Wil- 
liams, A. T. Burnley, James Hamilton and James Reiley, Loan Commis- 
sioners. 



318 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

At the election held in September, 1841, Sam Houston 
was elected President, and Edward Burleson, Vice-Pres- 
ident. * ^ 



*At this election there were 11,531 votes polled, of which Houston receiv- 
ed 7,915, and Burnet 3,616. For Vice President, Burleson received 6 141,. 
and Memucan Hunt 4,336. 






CHAPTER III. 

HOUSTON'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION— STATE OF THE PUBLIC FINANCES— RAIDS OF 
VASQUEZ AND WOLL — THE ARCHIVE WAR — SOMERVELL IN THE SOUTHWEST — THB 
MIKR EXPEDITION,— ITS DISASTERS— THE SNIVELY EXPEDITION— SANTA ANNA'S 
PROPOSALS THROUGH ROBINSON— THE NAVY. 

i TOUSTO^ was, for the second time, inaugurated Presi- 
li dent, December 13th, 1841. He found the Sixth 
Congress then in session, diligently at work, introducing 
measures of retrenchment and reform. From the first 
organization of the Government, agents had been kept in 
foreign countries, vainly endeavoring to effect a loan. 
This fantasy of an expected foreign loan had kept up 
the hopes of the Texans, when their own paper was worth 
but fifteen or twenty cents on the dollar. General James 
Hamilton, of South Carolina, was still in Europe, and 
reported favorably as to the prospect of success. But 
the Texans had been so often sadly disappointed, that but 
little reliance was placed upon his report ; and his efforts 
finally, fortunately for Texas, proved abortive. In Hous- 
ton's message to Congress, he said : " There is not a dollar 
in the treasur3^ The nation is involved from ten to fifteen 
millions; we are not only without money, but without 
credit, and for want of punctuality, without character. 
Patriotism, industry and enterprise are now our only 
resources — apart from our public domain, and the precarious 
revenues of the country. These remain our only hope, and 
must be improved, husbanded, and proj)erly emplo3'ed." 
He recommended, as the only practicable method of relief, 
the suspension of all attempts, at present, to pay off the 
indebtedness ; and the issue of exchequer bills, not to exceed 
$3o0,U00 in amount, to take the place of the old promissory 



320 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

notes, as a medium of exchange. He also recommended a 
reduction of taxes ; and tiiat taxes and customs dues be 
collected in par funds. Congress reduced the taxes, but 
failed to require them to be paid in par funds. The old 
promissory notes, now no longer receivable for public dues, 
soon lost a marketable value and ceased to circulate. For a 
short time the "new issue" was better ; but the public 
feared that, after a short trial, this paper would not jDay 
their taxes, and it rapidly declined in value. These fears 
were realized. At an extra session of Congress, in June, 
1842, a law was passed, requiring the collectors of customs, 
sheriifs, clerks and postmasters, throughout the Ile2:)ublic, 
to receive exchequer bills only at the current rates at which 
such bills were sold in the market. Though this was well 
calculated to destroy confidence in the j^aper issues, even of 
the "reform Congress," the small amount authorized to be 
put in circulation prevented the exchequer bills from falling 
so low in the market as the old red-backs. Many real 
reforms were introduced. A rigid economy was practiced 
in the various executive departments of the Government, 
and in the management of Indian affairs ; and all unneces- 
sary officers were dispensed with.* 

* The following figures are taken from Gouge's Fiscal History. The first 
column shows the receipts for the year 184:1 — the last year of the Lamar 
administration. The second column shows the receipts for the three years 
of Houston's second term : 

Lamar's— 1841. Houston's— 1842-44 

Fromcustoms $151,990 45 $360.177 46 

Direct taxes 170,503 91 80,335 89 

Licenses 42,686 37 16,503 60 

Land and land dues 68,025 62 

Miscellaneous 429 32 502 58 

From the above it would appear as though the people very generally 
abstained from paying taxes- While these could be paid in a currency worth 
but twenty-five cents on the dollar, they were paid, But when par funds 
were required, they went unpaid. The requirement of par funds was a 
very unpopular measure; and in some portions of the Republic it is 
reported, meetin<>:s were hold, protesting against the execution of the law. 
Even the revenue from customs wa'-; materially diminished by the introduc- 
tion of snuigglcd goods; especially in East Texas, along the line of the 
Sabine river. , 

/ 



AREIVAL OF A LARGE ARMY. 321 

In 1836 the United States declined to annex Texas, partly 
because the ability of the latter to maintain its independ- 
ence was somewhat ^problematical. Early in 1842, the 
question began again to be agitated, both in Texas and the 
United States. Six years had elapsed, and Mexico had 
made no serious attempt to recover her lost province. 
Xow, when the subject of annexing Texas to the United 
States began again to attract attention, to keep up the 
shadow of a claim, the Mexican Government sent small mil- 
itary parties into the country, though with no expectation of 
j)ermanent occupancy. Unheralded and unexpected by the 
Texans, on the 5th of March, 1842, General Rafael Yas- 
quez appeared in the neighborhood of San Antonio, and 
sent in a demand for the surrender of the city. After some 
consultation, Captain Jack Hays, with his small company 
of rangers, retired to the Guadalupe river, and on the 5th 
Vasquez entered the city, promising to protect the persons 
and property of the citizens. The city government was 
remodeled after the Mexican st^de, alcaldes taking the place 
of magistrates ; but after an occupancy of only two days, in 
which the soldiers behaved remarkably well, the Mexicans 
retreated again to the west side of the Rio Grande. About 
the same time, small parties of Mexican soldiers visited 
Refugio and Goliad, but remained only a day or two, when 
they retired again to their own country. 

In September a still more formidable army arrived in 
the neighborhood, under the command of General Adrian 
Woll. This raid was as unexpected as the other had been. 
The District Court was in session, and Woll captured Judge 
Hutchinson and the former Lieutenant-Governor, J. W. 
Robinson, and a number of other lawyers and officers of 
the court, in all, fifty-three. This party behaved very well 
in the city, protecting private property from plunder. It 
was on the 11th of September that Woll entered the city. 
A considerable force of Texans had collected on the Salado, 
six miles east of the city. Woll went out to attack this 



322 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

force, and a battle was fought on the 17th. Colonel Cald- 
well, in the official report of the battle, says : " We com- 
menced fighting at eleven o'clock. A hot fire was ke2:>t up 
until about one hour by sun, when the enemy retreated, 
bearing off their dead on the ground, and very many dead 
and wounded were taken from the field by their friends. 
We have a glorious band of Texan patriots, among whom 
ten only were wounded, and not one killed." As Woll was 
retreating toward the city, he fell in with a company of 
fifty-three Texans, from Fayette county, on its way to join 
Caldwell. After nearly one-half of his men had fallen, 
Dawson raised a white flag; it was fired upon. Dawson 
was an old soldier, having been in the United States army, 
and was a Lieutenant at the battle of San Jacinto, but see- 
ing tlie hopelessness of fighting such overwhelming num- 
bers, he surrendered his pistol. Unarmed as he was, a 
Mexican lancer assaulted him. He wrenched the lance 
from his opponent, and would have slain him, but was kill- 
ed by another Mexican soldier. Thirty-three of his men 
w^ere killed in battle ; fifteen surrendered, five of whom 
were wounded, and two escaped unhurt. One of'the latter, 
Henry G. Wood, who had lost his father and brother in 
the fight, after giving up his arms, was assaulted by a lancer. 
He seized the lance, killed the Mexican with it, and mount- 
ed his horse and escaped. At daybreak on the morning 
after this battle, Woll left the city and started for the Rio 
Grande. A misunderstanding among the Texans, as to who 
was entitled to the command, prevented a pursuit. 

President Houston believed the archives of the Govern- 
ment, especially the records of the Land Office, unsafe at a 
point so exposed as the city of Austin. On the 5th of Feb- 
ruary, 1842, he sent a message to Congress, suggesting the 
propriety of removing these archives to a place of greater 
security. Congress took no action on the subject ; and after 
the adjournment, President Houston paid a visit to Galves- 
ton. While in that city he heard of the raid of Yasquez, 




DAVID CROCKETT. 



THE ARCHIVE WAR. 325 

and the Mexican occupancy of San Antonio. He immedi- 
ately directed the members of his Cabinet to meet him in 
Houston. This abandonment of their frontier exasperated 
the people of Austin, and they determined to retain posses- 
sion of the archiv^es. This produced what has been digni- 
fied with the name of "The Archive War." A vigilance 
committee was formed, composed of the best citizens of the 
county, who took possession of the Government books and 
papers, boxed them up, and kept a constant guard over 
them. A committee was also formed at Bastrop, to patrol 
the roads, and permit no wagons with public property to 
pass down the country. An exception was made in favor 
of the property of the French minister, who was permitted 
to leave with whatever he chose to take with him. During 
the extra session of Congress, in June, the President again 
called attention to this subject ; but no action was taken. 

On the 10th of December, President Houston ordered 
Capt. Thomas I. Smith, to secretly muster a company of 
men, and secure the most necessary books and papers, and 
transport them to Washington, where Congress was to con- 
vene in regular session. Smith, with twenty men, and 
three wagons, quietly entered Austin on the night of Decem- 
ber 30, and commenced loading. The visit was unantici- 
pated by the people of the city, but a volunteer company 
soon rallied, ujider Capt. Mark B. Lewis, procured a can- 
non at the arsenal, and fired upon the transportation party. 
The Land Office was hit, but no serious damage done. The 
wagoners commenced a hasty retreat, taking, by Houston's 
order, the road to Caldwell, to avoid the patrol at Bastrop. 
They reached Kinney's Fort, on Brushy creek, fifteen miles 
from the city, when they camped. The next morning, when 
they prepared to start, they found Capt. Lewis with his 
cannon planted directly in their front. After a parley, the 
same wagons carried their loads back to Austin, and no 
other attempt was made for their removal. The commit- 
tee preserved them, and when the Government returned to 



326 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the capital, under Jones' administration, they were surren- 
dered to the proper officers. But during the absence of the 
Executive Department from Austin, Colonel Ward, the 
Commissioner of the Land Office, returned to the city and 
opened his office, and transacted such business as was deem- 
ed of importance to the public welfare. 

The Mexican raids under Vas(]^uez and Woll had awak- 
ened a martial spirit in Texas. Moreover, there were a 
good many Texans held as prisoners in Mexico, belonging 
to the Santa Fe expedition, and taken by Woll in San Anto- 
nio. It was the opinion of some of our leading men, that it 
would be good policy to organize an expedition for aggres- 
sive warfare, with a view of taking Mexican citizens, to be 
exchanged for the Texans detained as prisoners in Mexico. 
Under the influence of this new military enthusiasm, many 
companies of soldiers made their way to San Antonio, 
ready to join the proposed expedition. These men wished 
Burleson to command them ; but Somervell was a personal 
friend and favorite of the President, and was perhaps, as 
Brigadier-General of the militia, entitled to the command. 
At any rate, he was directed to take charge of the expedi- 
tion. When Somervell arrived at headquarters, he pro- 
posed, in deference to the wishes of the men, to turn the 
command over to General Burleson ; but the latter declined 
the responsibility. General Somervell was somewhat tardy 
in his movements, and some of the men became dissatis- 
fied and left for their homes. While camped on the 
Medina, at a mass meeting of the men, Col. James R. Cook 
was requested to take command ; but, after some discus- 
sion, the men consented to march under Somervell. They 
left the Medina on the 25th of November, for Laredo. For 
some unexplained reason, they deflected from the main 
route of travel, and soon found themselves on flat, boggy 
prairies, where they made but slow progress. The com- 
mand reached Laredo on the 8th of December, and took 
possession of the place without opposition. The men 



someevell's expedition. 327 

expected to cross the river, and pass down through the 
towns of Guerrero, Mier, Comargo and Reinoso, to Mata- 
moras ; but after a few ' days' rest, they w^ere ordered to 
move down on the Texas side of the stream. The first 
night out was spent in a dense thicket. The next mornings 
after reaching water, the General, learning that there was 
great dissatisfaction at his not crossing the river, assem- 
bled the men, and assured them that he was willing to lead 
them into the enemy's land ; but at the same time, unac- 
countably announced that all who desired to do so, were at 
liberty to return home. Out of the 700 men then in the 
ranks, about 200, wath Colonels Bennet and M'Crocklin,. 
left the army. 

The next day, orders were given by General Somervell 
to march for Guerrero. They were still in the dense chap- 
arral, and it took five days to make the distance that ought 
to have been traveled over in two. When they reached the 
Rio Grande, six miles from the town, December 14th, Major 
Hays and Captain Bogart, and a few of the men, crossed 
the river, and the whole army crossed on the 15th. The 
Mexican officer in command, Colonel Canalis, retired on 
the approach of the Texans. The place was comparatively 
destitute of supplies, and on the 17th they recrossed to the 
Texas side. Here, on the 19th, the following order wa& 
issued : 

Order No. 64. The troops Deloiiging to the Southwestern army will 
march at tea o'clock this morning for the junction of the Rio Frio and the 
Nueces, thence to Ganzales, where they will be disbanded. By order of 
Brigadier General Somervell. 

John TiEMrHiLL, 

Acting Adjutant General. 

This order astounded the men, who were anxious to avenge 
the insults which the raids of Vasquez and Woll had in- 
flicted upon Texas. To this day it is still a mystery why 
the General abandoned the aggressive movement undertaken 
by order of the President. We copy the closing paragraph 
of his report to the Secretary' of War : 



328 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

" It was from no apprehension of the scarcity of stores of subsistance, 
that the army under my command was ordered to withdraw on the 10th 
ult. But h;iviii<? been eleven days on the river, and knowing the various 
positions of bodies of the enemy's troops, I was satisfied that they were 
concentrating in such numbers as to render a longer stay an act of impru- 
dence."* 

About three hundred of the men remained after General 
Somervell lelt. Some of them were without horses, and all 
wished to make a hostile demonstration before returning to 
their homes. William S. Fisher was elected commander. 
€ompanies were organized under Captains Eastland, Cam- 
eron, R^^on and Pierson. They were near the river, and 
boats were secured to transport the baggage down to a point 
opposite to the town of Mier, their first objective point. A 
guard was placed on the boats, under the command of T. 
Jefferson Green. All arrived safely at a point opposite to 
the town. On the 21st a detachment of Texans entered the 
city and made a demand for provisions and horses, taking 

*It has been conjectured that President Houston never intended an aggres- 
sive movement against Mexico, and that Somervell acted under secret 
orders, in disbanding his men. If the General had intended to make the 
expedition a thilure, he could not have done it more effectually than he 
did; but with the fatality that attended so many of the military enterprises 
of Texas, General Somervell, instead of orderinf/ his men home, permitted 
a fraction of them to remain, and enter upon the d'«astrous Mier expedi- 
tion. Better material for an army was never collected in Texas, than tiiose 
in the Southwestern army when it left San Antonio. We give a few of the 
names of those who returned with General S. : 

John Hemphill, Wm.G. Cooke, C.N. Winfield, John H. Herndon, M. 
Austin Bryan, B. J. Gillaspie, James R. Cook, George T. Howard, E. S. C. 
Robertson, Clark L. Owen, J. B. Robertson, Shelby McNeil, T. S. Lub- 
bock, John P. Borden, Thomas Green, Memucan Hunt, Ben. McCulloch, 
JackHays, P. Hansborough Bell, Bartlet Sims, Capt. Bogart, J. N. Mitch- 
ell, Capt. Lowery, Robert Smithers. 

We subjoin the names of a few of the Mier men : 

William S. Fisher, Thomas J. Green, Wm. M. Eastland, Ewin Cameron, 
Claudius H. Buster, Wm. Ryon, Harvey Sellers, Freeman Douglas, George 
B. Crittenden, Dr. R. F. Brenham, F. M. Gibson, Pat. H. Lusk, Henry 
Journey, G. W. Pilant, J. G. Peerson, Thomas W. Cox, John R. Baker, S. 
H. Walker, James C. Wilson, Wm. A. Wallace, Chas. K. Reece, John 
Sliipman, W. P. Stapp, and many others worthy of mention. A failure in 
an army with such material is botli humiliating and unaccountable. 



THE CONFLICT AT MIER. 329' 

the Alcalde as a hostage, until the provisions were delivered 
at their camp on the river. While the Texans were quietly 
waiting for the delivery of the supplies, Ampudia, with 
about 2,000 Mexican soldiers, took possession of the town, 
and of course the provisions were not delivered. The 
Texans were encamped on the Texas side of the stream, and 
not receiving their supplies, they, on the afternoon of 
Christmas day, crossed the stream and started for the city. 
The troops of Ampudia were encountered on the Alcantra 
creek, near the city. The Mexicans were driven into the 
town, though still fighting. The Texans were then pressing 
their way towards the main plaza. The Mexicans continued 
to resist, firing from the tops of the flat-roofed houses. A 
little after daylight Colonel Fisher was severely wounded. 
Early in the engagement five of the Texan scouts were taken 
prisoners. During a temporary slack in the fire from the 
assailants' ranks, consequent upon the wounding of their 
commander, Ampudia sent Dr. Sennickson, one of the pris- 
oners, with a flag of truce. Up to that time the Texans 
had been completely victorious, and might possibly have 
taken the city had the fight not been intermitted. But the 
Mexicans outnumbered them five or six to one. Fisher, 
weak from the loss of blood, and afi*ected by the use of 
powerful stimulants, felt unable to continue the combat, and 
advised a surrender. Ampudia oflered most generous 
terms. In the meantime, before any conclusion had been 
reached, two or three old men, and then others, went over 
on the Mexican side and laid down their arms. As this 
process went on, there were too few left for successful combat, 
and all finally surrendered. "The prisoners were to be 
treated with the consideration which is in accordance with 
the ma^cnanimous Mexican nation." The Texans had 265 
men engaged in the fight, of whom sixteen were killed and 
about twenty wounded. The wounded were left in charge 
of Dr. Sennickson, and the others hurried towards the city 
of Mexico. They reached Matamoras on the 9th of January,, 



330 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

and Monterey on the 26th of January, 1843. Passing 
Saltillo, they arrived at the Hacienda Sahido, February lOth, 
where they resolved to make an attempt to regain their 
liberty. 

On the morning of the 11th, the prisoners, after an early 
breakfast and while the most of the guard were at their 
breakfast, leaving but two sentinels on duty, Captains 
Cameron and S. H. Walker, in a careless manner, approached 
the sentinels. Cameron gave the signal agreed upon, "Xuw, 
boys, yve go it," and suddenly seized one and disarmed him, 
while Walker disarmed the other. The Texans rushed out 
of the inclosed area and supplied themselves with such 
weapons as they could pick up. The guards rallied, and 
fur a few minutes maintained a sharp conflict, but finally 
gave w^ay, and the prisoners were free."^' 

The Texans started immediately for home, passing around 
Saltillo on the 13th of February. The next night they 
abandoned the road, and attempted to make their w^ay 
through the mountains ; became bewildered and scattered, 
and suffered for food and water. On the 18th most of 
them were recaptured. Of the 216 at Salado, eighteen 
refused to join in the attempt to escape, five were killed, 
sixteen were lost in the mountains, and probably perished, 
four made their way back to Texas, and 173 were recap- 
tured. On reaching Salado the second time, on the 24th of 
March, an order was received from Santa Anna to shoot 
every tenth man. The men were paraded and required to 
draw a bean out of a box, containing 159 white and seventeen 
black beans. Those drawing the black beans were taken 
out of the ranks and securely guarded. They asked to be 
shot in front, but this poor boon w^as denied them. Such 
as were Catholics accepted the services of a priest ; the 

* In this conflict the Texans lost in killed, Dr. R. F. Brenham and Lieu- 
tenant Fitzgerald, both of whom had been in the Santa Fe expedition, and 
Messrs. Rice, Lyons, and Iliofffison. Wounded, Captain Baker, G. Wash 
Trahern, Hancock, Harvey and Stansbury. 



A DEATH-LOTTERY 331 

others requested one of their number, Robert Dunham, a 
2)ious member of the Methodist church, to pray for them. 
He knelt down and offered a most fervent prayer. Religious 
services having been concluded, the men were blindfolded 
and tied, and made to sit down with their backs to their 
executioners; when the word was given — Fire! All were 
killed but young Shepherd,' who, though still alive, feigned 
death, and during the night crawled off. He was subse- 
quently recaptured — and shot ! * 

The black beans had been placed on the top, and the offi- 
cers required to draw first^ but most of them escaped. A 
few days later a positive order was received from Santa 
Anna, to shoot Capt. Cameron. It was said that this order 
was given at the request of Canalis, who had a quarrel with 
Cameron when in the campaign of the Republic of the Rio 
Grande. The survivors shared the fate of other prisoners 
in the hands of the Mexicans. They were chained together, 
imprisoned, put to work on roads and other public improve- 
ments, half fed, and subjected to various insults from dom- 
ineerino- officers. A number died ; some were released at 
the solicitation of influential friends, (Col. G-reen at the re- 
quest of General Andrew Jackson). During Santa Anna's 
detention in Texas, he was for a considerable time at the 
home of Dr. Phelps, and remembered with -gratitude the 
kindness of the family. He released Orlando Phelps, Dr. 
Phelps' son. First Ampudia, and then Santa Anna, took a 
fancy to a mere lad by the name of Hill ; and young Hill's 
father and brother were released ; and the young man sent 
to the best college in Mexico. He adopted the profession 
of a mininsr eno-ineer, and is still a citizen of Mexico. Tii 
September, 1844, the wife of Santa Anna died. It has been 



* Names of the victims: Wm. M Eastland, Robert Dunham, L. L. Cash, 
James D. Cocke, Edward Este, a brother-in-law of D. G. Burnet; Rol)ert 
Harris, Thomas L. James, Patrick Malioii, James Ogden, Charles Roberts, 
Wm. Rowan, J. L. Shepherd. J. M. N. Thomason, James H. Torrey, James 
Turnbull, Henry Whaling and M. C. Wing. 



332 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

stated that on her death-bed she requested that the Texan 
prisoners might be set at liberty. At any rate, during this 
period of grief, the Mexican President released the 104 
survivors of the ill-starred expedition. 

A large strip of country belonging to Texas, situated 
north of Red river, was uninhabited. Traders, in going* 
from St. Louis to Santa Fe, passed through this uninhab- 
ited district. It was expected a large party of Mexican 
merchants, with valuable stocks of goods, would pass along 
this route early in the year 1843. Some adventurers in 
Texas looked upon this party as belonging to our Mexican 
enemies, and therefore subject to legitimate plunder; and 
under instructions of President Houston, the War Depart- 
ment authorized the organization of a military company 
for its caj^ture. The command of the expedition was given 
to Colonel Jacob Snively, a member of the President's staffs 
as Inspector-Greneral. Colonel S. was instructed to remain 
on Texas soil ; make his ca^^tures only in honorable warfare, 
and deposit one-half the spoils in the Texas treasury. But 
as the men were required to equip themselves, when they 
organized for the march, the requisition to give the treas- 
ury one-half the spoils, w^as unanimously rejected. The 
place of rendezvous was on Red river, near where the town 
of Dennison now stands. The command, numbering 180 
men, left that place on the 25th of April, and struck the 
Santa Fe trail at the crossing of the Arkansas river, about 
the last of May. 

Snively's party failed to meet with the caravan ; but, on 
the 20th of June, fell in with a company of Mexican sol- 
diers, sent to guard the train. In the fight which ensued, 
seventeen Mexican soldiers were killed and about eic'htv 
taken prisoners. The Texans obtained a good supjDly of 
provisions and horses. After this brilliant achievement, 
the men became dissatisfied and demoralized, and separated 
into two parties ; one party choosing Captain Chandler as 
their leader. 




THE UllSULINE CONVENT, SAN ANTONIO. 



snively's surrender. 335 

The St. Louis papers having published an account of 
Snively's departure from Red river, General Gaines sent 
200 U. S. dragoons, under Captain Phillip St. George Cooke, 
to protect the caravan. On the 30th of June, the dragoons 
discovered Snively's camj), surrounded it, and under pre- 
tence that it was on the soil of the United States, compelled 
the men to surrender and give up their arms. Cooke offered 
to such of the Texans as preferred to go to St. Louis, an 
escort to that city. A few accepted the offer; but the 
most of the men wished to return to their homes in Texas. 
Cooke furnished such as chose to return, a few guns to pro- 
tect themselves against the Indians. Snively's party now 
numbered 107. Chandler and his men were still in the 
neighborhood, and had escaped the dragoons. On the 2d 
of July, the two parties united. On the 4th, they had a 
skirmish with the Indians ; and another a few days latei'. 
Finally, August 6th, the command reached Bird's Fort on 
the Trinity river, where the men were disbanded. Subse- 
quent investigation proved that Snively was on Texas soil 
when disarmed by Cooke, and after annexation, a paltry 
sum was paid into the Texas treasury by the United States, 
for the arms taken at that time. * 



* After examining the published accounts of this expedition, and two 
sketches in manuscript, by persons connected with it, we still find it diffi- 
cult to fix accurately the dates and the connection of the different incidents. 
We have just obtained a new sketch, by Colonel Hugh F. Young, of San 
Antonio, who was with Snively from the organization to the breaking up 
of the party. The account is interesting, but too long to be copied. The 
following are the leading points in this sketch: 1. The legal character of 
the party. It was authorized by President Houston, and regular instruc- 
tions given by the Secretary of War. While Gen. Houston was Senator, 
he declared that the expedition was without authority. We have seenihe 
letter of instruction, signed Sam Houston. 2. The object of the expedi- 
tion was to make reprisals for the raids of Vasques and Woll. 3. Lieutenant 
James O. Rice was guide, and under his direction the company took the 
old Coahuiia trail to the mouth of the Little Wichita river, where they 
forded Red river, at a place where it is from 400 to 600 yards wide. They 
then passed through the Wichita mountains, crossing the south and north 
forks of the Canadian river and the Cimarone, and struck the Arkansas river 
about twenty-five miles below the Fort Leavenworth and Santa Fe road. 
20 



336 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Among the prisoners taken by Woll, in San Antonio, 
was the former Lieutenant-Governor J. W. Robinson. 
From his prison, Robinson wrote to Santa Anna, suggest- 
ing possible terms for the adjustment of the difficulties 
between Texas and Mexico. It is likely that this course 
was adopted by Robinson primarily to regain his personal 
liberty. At any rate, he was released and sent home by 
the substitute President, with important letters to Mr. 
Houston. Though the proposition brought by Robinson 
was distasteful to the Texans, as it contemplated Texas as 
province of Mexico, it produced a good deal of discussion in 
which the diplomatic agents of both Great Britain and 
France participated ; and finally an armistice was agreed 
upon and proclaimed, June 13th, 1843, " To continue until 
due notice to resume hostilities, (should such intention 
thereafter be entertained by either party) should be formal- 
ly announced through her Britanic Majesty's Charges 
n Affaires, at their respective governments." 

The further discussion of the relations between the 
countries was carried on through Hon. William Kennedy, 
the British Consul at Galveston. Santa Anna complained 

They had travelled about 560 miles. 4. They reached that point one month 
too early, and while lying idle in camps, the men became dissatisfied and 
insubordinate. 5. They ascertained that Governor Armijo, of New Mex- 
ico, was camped at the Cimarone spring, with about 1,000 Mexican soldiers, 
to protect the train. 6. Snively's men encountered and completely defeated 
a large advance party of Armijo, after which the Governor ingloriously 
retreated to Santa Fe. 7. Chandler and his followers abandoned Snively. 
8. Those with Snively were forced to surrender to Cooke. Afterward. 
Snively, with a part of his command, reunited with Chandler. The\ 
obtained information that the train was en route, only a few days' march 
distant. 9. Owing to a reluctance on the part of tlie main body to march 
for the train, Snively resigned, breaking his sword; when Warfield was 
elected commander. The men seemed still unwilling to attempt to take 
the train, and dissolved, and in small parties started for home. They were 
in Texas when disarmed by Cooke, and the U. S. Congress, in spite of the 
declaration of Houston, that the command was unauthorized, finally 
paid each man eighteen and a half dollars for each gun taken. During 
the encounters with the Indians, four men were killed: Messrs. Davis, 
Simmons, Sharpe and Caldwell. 



PEACE NEGOTIATIONS. 337 

that Texas still held Mexican prisoners captured at San 
Jacinto. To this it was replied, that all those prisoners had 
been set at liberty in 1837, and that all who chose to do so, 
had returned to Mexico. But to satisfy the demand, Houston 
issued a proclamation, ordering all prisoners released, and 
directing them to report to the camp of Colonel Jack Hays, 
when transportation would be furnished them and an escort 
to the headquarters of Greneral Woll, near Matanioras. 
Another subject of complaint was, that Mexican citizens 
had been killed in the Southwest. To this it w^as answered, 
that that portion of Texas was infested by banditti, who 
claimed either Texan or Mexican citizenship, as best served 
their j)redatory excursions. To break up this nest of robbers- 
the whole Southwest was placed under martial law, under 
General Davis. Another subject of complaint was that the 
Snively expedition had been sent to rob Mexican merchants. 
To this the President replied, that as soon as orders could 
reach Colonel Snively, that party should be called home. 
Santa Anna, on his part, agreed to release allTexans in 
Mexican prisons. 

Commissioners were finally appointed, to meet and discuss 
the questions at issue between the two countries.* 

The Commissioners met on the 26th of September. 
Their instructions were " To endeavor to establish a general 
armistice between Texas and Mexico, to continue during 
the pendency of negotiations for a permanent peace, and 
adjustment of the difficulties between the two countries, and 
for such further period as they could agree upon ; requiring 
notice to be given by either party disposed to resume hos- 
tilities, to the other, through the British Minister resident 
at the corresponding Court, six months previous to any act 
of hostility ; to agree that the Government of Texas should 
.appoint Commissioners, clothed with full powers, to meet at 

* George W. Hockley and Samuel M. Williams were the Texas Commis- 
sioners, and Messrs. Landeras and Jannequi the Commissioners ou the part 
of Mexico. They met at Sabinas, ou the Ilio Grande. 



338 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the city of Mexico, to negotiate for the adjustment of all 
existing difficulties, and for the establishment of a perma- 
nent peace." As the Texans were anxious to gain time, 
the Commissioners were in no hurry to conclude their 
negotiations. In the mean time, the question of annexa- 
tion had assumed a prominence which threw all others in 
the shade ; but, finally, February 18th, 1844, a general 
armistice was signed. This document was unsatisfactory 
to the Texas Government, as it referred to Texas as " a 
department of Mexico." It was quietly deposited, without 
action, in the archives of the State Department. 

Durino: Houston's administration a verv serious disturb- 
ance occurred in East Texas, between two hostile factions, 
both of whom defied the civil law, and carried on their 
operations according to the code of Judge Lynch. These 
parties were called " Regulators," and " Moderators." In 
Shelby, Harrison, and some other counties, nearly the entire 
population was involved in this vendetta. Hostile parties 
traversed the country, committing many unlawful acts and 
killing those of the opposite faction. It was supposed that 
at one time as many as a thousand menwere under arms, in 
defiance of the civil authorities. Finally, when the citizens 
began to feel that all the interests of society were in jeop- 
ardy, President Houston directed General James Smith to 
call out the militia and quell the disturbance. The men 
then generally returned peacefully to their homes, but it 
was several years before entire peace was established be- 
tween the leaders of the " Moderators" and "Regulators." 

When Houston came into office, the vessels constituting 
the Texas navy were on the coast of Yucatan, employed 
by the revolutionary Government of that State. Having 
returned from that service, the vessels sailed into JSTew 
Orleans for repairs. While the schooner San Antonio was 
at anchor in the Mississippi river, a mutiny occurred on 
board. The officers had an intimation of the intended out- 
break, and were prepared for it. Several of the mutineers 



SECEET SALE OF THE NAVY. 339 

were condemned and hung at the yard arm. In August, 

1842, the San Antonio, Caj^tain Brannan it is suj^posed, 

by order of Commodore Moore, as the Government at 
Washington gave no orders — sailed for Yucatan, it was 
said, to collect dues from the Government there. She was 
never heard of afterward ; and it is supposed she foundered 
at sea and all on board perished. 

Though President Houston was opposed to aggressive 
war against Mexico, he thought a blockade might be main- 
tained by the Texas navy of the leading Mexican ports. 
Tlie blockade had been proclaimed soon after the vessels 
returned from Yucatan, but months passed and the ships 
were still at anchor in the Mississippi, or at Mobile. The 
vessels were ordered to Galveston for instructions. The 
order was disregarded and was repeated, and Commodore 
Moore ordered to report in person to the Secretary of War. 
He failed to report. Moore claimed that he had invested 
largely of his personal means in refitting the ships, and was 
unwilling to leave them. He expected soon to sail for 
Yucatan on a cruise. The navy being thus idle, and its 
commanding officers failing to obey the orders of the Secre- 
tary of War, Houston sent a message to Congress, which 
was considered in secret session, and on the 16th of Janua- 
r}^, 1843, an act was passed secretly, for the sale of the navy. 

President Houston sent Colonels James Moro-an and Wm. 
Bryan to New Orleans as Commissioners, with imperative 
orders to take possession of the vessels and bring them to 
Galveston. The Commodore declined to deliver them up ; 
but proposed to bring them home ; and started, with Colonel 
Morgan with him on the vessel. When they arrived at the 
mouth of the river with the Austin and the Wharton they 
received such information as induced Colonel Morgan to 
consent to a cruise on the coast of Yucatan. When Houston 
learned that his Commissioner had gone on a cruise with 
the recalcitrant Commodore, he issued a proclamation sus- 
pending Moore from command, and ordering the ships 



340 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

directly to Texas. This last act had the desired effect, and 
soon afterward the ships sailed into Galveston. When it 
became known that Congress had 2:>assed an act for the sale 
of the navy, the people of Galveston were very much exas- 
perated. Public meetings w^ere held, and strong protests 
2)resented against giving up this arm of defence ; and persons 
were advised not to bid on the ships if offered for sale. 
The sale was not attempted, and the ensuing Congress 
repealed the law for its sale, February 5th, 1844. 

The steamship Za valla and the schooner San Bernard 
were wrecked in a storm at Galveston, in October, 1842. 
By the terms of the treaty of annexation, subsequently 
agreed to, all the surviving vessels were transferred to the 
navy of the United States. The vessels so transferred 
were the sloo^^ Austin ; the brig Wharton (formerly the- 
Dolphin) ; the Archer, (formerly the Colorado) ; and the 
schooner San Jacinto. It was provided that the officers of 
the navy in actual service should be transferred with their 
shi2:>s, and in the same rank. But for some reason, we 
believe they were not received into the navy of the United 
States. 

At the election held September 2d, 1844, Anson Jones 
w^as elected President, and Kenneth L. Anderson, Vice 
President.'^ 



*The total vote was 12,752; of which Anson Jones received 7,037; 
Edward Burleson 5^668, and there were forty-seven scattering. 

The following were the leading officers daring this administration: 
Anson Jones, Secretary of State; George AY. Hockley and George ^Y. Hill, 
Secretaries of War and Navy, (consolidated into one office) ; William Henry 
Dangerfield and James B. Miller, Secretaries of the Treasury; George W. 
Terrill and Ebeiiezer Allen, Attorney Generals; Asa Brigham, Treasurer: 
Francis 11. Lubbock and James B. Shaw, Comptrollers; Charles Mason, 
Auditor; John P. Borden and Thomas William Ward, Commissioners ot 
the General Land Office ; James Roiley, Isaac Van Zandt and J. Pickne>' 
Henderson, Ministers to the United States; Ashbel Smith, Minister to 
France; William Henry Dangerfield, INIiiiister iQ the Netherlands, Belgium 
and the Hanse Towns; Charles H. Raymond, Secretary of Legation to the 
United States. 



CHAPTER IV. 

JONES' ADMINISTRATION— TEXAS PROSPEROUS— ANNEXATION AGAIN AGITATED- 
ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND THE UNITED STATES INTERESTED — ACTION OP THE TEXAS 
CONGRESS— THE CONVENTION ACCEPT THE TERMS, JULY 4, 1845— VOTE OF THE 
PEOPLE. 

Jones' Administration. — Messrs. Jones and Anderson 
were inaugurated December 9th, 1844. Dr. Jones had 
been Secretary of State during the previous administration, 
and was familiar with the business of the Executive Depart- 
ment, especially the relations with foreign governments. 
In many respects this was an auspicious era. The pros- 
pect of peace with Mexico gave a new stimulus to immi- 
gration ; good crops had, in a great measure, relieved the 
embarrassments of the people ; and taxes were promptly 
paid.* 

The Indians were remarkably quiet, and there was less 
disturbance upon the frontier during this administration 
than at almost any other period in our history. The diffi- 
culties in East Texas, between the " Regulators " and " Mod- 
erators," had subsided, and throughout the Republic there 
w^as no interruption to the administration of civil and crim- 
inal law. At the organization of the courts, in 1836, there 



* During the fourteen months of the Jones administration the receipts 
from customs amounted to $340,506; from direct taxes $27,561; licenses, 
etc., over $17,000, making a total of $385,000 ; and that in par funds, as the 
exchequers had appreciated until thej^ were equal to gold and silver; so 
that " after defraying the expense of an extra session of Congress, and of 
the Annexation Convention, repairuig the old Government buildings at 
Austin, and removing the Government back to that city, there was a surplus 
in the treasury sufficient,-' says Dr. Jones, "to support the State Government 
for two years." 



342 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

were four districts. The number had now increased to 
seven.'^' 

Negotiations for permanent peace, based upon the inde- 
pendence of Texas, were stiil carried forward, encouraged 
by the liberal disposition of General Herrera, who was now 
President of Mexico. England and France, says Dr. Jones, 
influenced by the strongest desire to prevent annexation, 
and insure the separate indeiDendence of Texas, conjointly 
resolved upon a diplomatic act, in June, 1844, by which 
these powers guaranteed the indej^endence of Texas, on 
condition that she should not be annexed to the United 
States. A year or two earlier, this proposition would have 
been hailed with delight by the citizens of Texas ; but now 
there was a prospect of annexation, and all other questions 
were lost sight of. This question had entered into the 
Presidential canvass in the United States, and Mr. Polk, 
the annexation candidate, had been elected. 

President Jones felt the embarrassment of the situation. 
Texas was an independent power; and with her diplo- 
matic agents in foreign countries, it would be manifestly 
imj^roper for the executive to display too great an anxiety 
to merge the sovereignty of the country in that of another ; 
especially while leading nations were negotiating in its 
interest. This caution of the President was construed into 
indifference, if not hostility to the great measure of annex- 
ation ; and he was condemned in unmeasured terms. He 



* The following were Chief Justices of the Supi'eme Court during the 
Republic: James Collinsworth, John Birdsall (by appointment of the 
President), Thomas J. Rusk, and John Hemphill. Clerks of Supreme 
Court: William Fairfax Gray, a,nd Thomas Green. Judges of District 
Court: Shelby Corzine, Benjamin C. Franklin, R. M. Williamson, James 
W. Robinson, Edward T. Branch, John T. Mills, Ezeldel W. Cullen, Henry 
W. Fontaine, John Scott, Anthony B. Shelby, AYilliam J. Jones, John 
Hemphill, Richardson Scurry, John M. Hansford, R. E. B. Baylor, Anderson 
Hutchinson, George W. Terrill, Thomas Johnson, Patrick C Jack, Richard 
Morris, William B. Ochiltree, AVilliam E. Joues, M. P. Norton, John B. 
Jones, R. T. AVheeler. 




ANSOX JONES. 



QUESTION OF ANNEXATION. 345 

was further annoyed by parties who were determined to 
involve the country in a war with Mexico, even before the 
measure of annexation was determined. Some of these 
were military officers of Texas ; others were emissaries from 
the United States. * 

This question of annexation was one of sufficient histor- 
ical importance to claim our careful consideration. It has 
been recklessly asserted that many of the leading citizens 
of the province came into the country intending to revolu- 
tionize it and transfer its allegiance from the Mexican to the 
North American Republic ; and that Greneral Jackson was 
privy to this manoeuver and gave it his sanction. This 
supposition is not worthy of a moment's attention. The 
men who settled Texas were -true men, and when they 
became citizens of Mexico, it was with the purpose of becom- 
ing loyal subjects of that Government. At the Convention 
of 1833, of which Austin, Houston, Burnet and many other 
leading Texans were members, a warm attachment was 
expressed for the Mexican constitution of 1824, and for the 
Plan of Zavalla, which proposed to restore that constitu- 
tion, and under which Santa Anna had been elected Pres- 
ident. Two years later, the members of the General 
Consultation, at San Felipe, deliberately renewed their 
declaration of fealty to that constitution. Not would the 
proposition to declare Texas independent have been enter- 
tained for a moment, had not Santa Anna overthrown the 
constitutional government, and dissolved the State legis- 
latures, and established a central military despotism 

But after Texas had declared her independence at Wash- 
ington,/ on the 2d of March, 1836, and had achieved it at 
San Jacinto a few weeks later, they awoke to the difficulties 
of maintaining a separate nationality. The country was too 
new ; too sparsely populated ; too poor to maintain an expen- 

* Dr. Jones mentions among those who wei'O determined to bring on a 
J "war, ex-Governor Yell, of Arkansas, and "Wicklifle, of Kentucky; Com- 
modore Stockton, and Major A. J. Donaldson. 



346 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

sive government, with its judicial, executive and legislative 
departments, its army and navy, and list of diplomatic 
agents in foreign countries. To avoid such heavy expenses 
and responsibilities, the people, in September, 1836, voted 
in favor of annexing Texas to the United States ; but the 
authorities at Washington declined to accept the new State 
and the question for several years was in abeyance. 

During the administration of Mr. Tyler, " the President 
without a party," it was intimated that if Texas would 
renew her application for admission, it would be favorably 
received. The Texan Minister again brought the subject 
to the attention of the State Department, and Mr. Calhoun 
introduced a bill providing for the annexation of Texas, by 
treaty, to the United States. President Tyler had miscal- 
culated the temper of the Senate. That body, by a vote of 
thirty -five to sixteen, rejected the bill. After this snubbing 
Mr. Van Zandt, the Texas Minister, withdrew the applica- 
tion. Nor w^as Texas so much concerned about the success 
of the measure as she had formerly been. Through the 
British and French Ministers in Mexico, negotiations w^ere 
in progress, which finally secured the Mexican acknowledge- 
ment of our independence, with an English and French 
guarantee. 

The politicians of the United States were anxious to keep 
the Texas question out of the Presidential canvass for 1844. 
It was universally supposed that Mr. Van Buren would be 
the Democratic candidate, and that Henry Clay would 
be nominated by the Whigs ; and both these gentlemen 
announced themselves opposed to annexation. On the part 
of Van Buren this announcement was premature. When 
the Democratic Convention met, he was shelved, and Mr. 
Polk nominated. A heated political canvass followed. It 
was asserted that England and France wished to get a foot- 
hold on this continent, by gaining the control of Texas, 
contrary to the " Monroe doctrine." It was further asserted 



JOINT RESOLUTION FOR ANNEXATION. 347 

that Great Britain was plotting for the emancipation of the 
slaves in Texas. * 

Although the people of the United States had, in the 
Presidential election, declared for annexation, it was still 
doubtful whether a sufficient number of votes could be de- 
pended upon, in the Senate, to accomplish the measure by 
treaty, and a joint resolution was passed by both houses of 
Congress, to annex Texas to the Union as a State. This 
was promptly signed by President Tyler, and transmitted 
to Texas. 

On the fifth of May, President Jones issued his procla- 
mation for the election of delegates to a general convention 
of the people, to consider the proposition which had passed 
the United States Congress. The Texas Congress met in a 

* We ought, perhaps, here to corect an error into which Mr. Yoakum wa& 
led. Speaking on this subject, he says, vohune 2, page 421: "At the 
same time Texas was informed that Mr. Doyle, the British Charge 
d' Affaires, had been instructed to propose to Mexico a settlement of the 
difficulties with Texas, based upon the abolition of slavery in the latter." 
On the contrary, Anson Jones says, (Memoranda for 1850, page 52) : " The 
subject of domestic slavery, about which so much alarm existed in 1844-45, 
was never so much as mentioned or alluded to by the British Minister to 
the Government of Texas, except to disclaim, in most emphatic terms, any 
intention on the part of England ever to interfere with it here. * * 
Indeed, that constituted no part of the policy of that far-reaching nation. 
Her Texas policy was to build up a power independent of the United States, 
that could raise cotton enough to supply the world." Dr. Ashbel Smith, 
who was Minister to England during Houston's Administration, and Secre- 
tary of State under that of Jones, mentions another topic, (see page 47. 
Lecture before Galveston Historical Society). It was charged that both 
Houston and Jones '' were plotting to sell Texas to an European power. 
That they were engaged in a deliberate conspiracy to sell Texas to England. 
* * A conspiracy against Texas and against a broad Continental 
policy. Yet, all the while, up to the last moment of the incorporation of 
Texas into the American Union, no European power ever even hinted at, 
much less did any one propose, any political advantage or influence, or any 
political relation whatever; nor sought any commercial facility which would 
not, on the same terms, be open to the world. It may seem aliunde the 
record of Texas history, to vindicate the loyal honesty of European cabinets 
in their dealings with Texas, but be pleased to bear in mind tliat the vindi- 
cation of these cabinets is, at the same time, the vindication of tjie honored 
chief officers of the Republic of Texas." 



348 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



called session, at Washington, on the 16th of June, and 
promptly gave its assent to the annexation resolutions.* 

The Convention met in the city of Austin, July 4th, and 
organized by electing Thomas J. Rusk, President, and 
James H. Raymond, Secretary. A committee was appoint- 
ed to whom the message of the President and the annexa- 
tion resolutions were referred. The following is the report 
of that committee : 

. Committee Room, July 4th, 1845 . 

Hon. Thos. J. Rusk, 

President of the Convention : 
The committee to whom was referred the communication of his Excel- 
lency the President of the Republic, together with the accompanying doc- 
uments, have had the same under consideration, and have instructed me to 
report the following Ordinance, and recommend its adoption by the Con- 
vention. 

[Signed] Abnkb S. Lipscomb, 

Chairman. 



AN ORDINANCE. 

Whereas, the Congress of the United States of America has passed resolu- 
tions providing for the annexation of Texas to that Union, which resolu- 
tions were oflFered by the President of the United States on the first day 
of March, 1845 ; and 

* During the Republic there were nine Congresses elected. The first 
held two sessions: one at Columbia, and one at Houston. The second con- 
vened before the regular time, and held an adjourned session, April 9th, 1838. 
The seventh held a called session in Houston and another in Washington, 
and the regular session at the same place. The ninth Congress held a called 
session in Washington, in June, 1845. This was the last meeting of the 
Congress of the Republic, as at that session annexation was assented to. 
The following table shows the time and officers of the regular sessions : 



SENATE. 


HOUSE. 


No 


TIME. 


PKES'T. PRO TEM. 


6ECRETART. 


SPEAKER. 


CHIEF CLERK. 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

8 
9 


Oct. 3, 1836. 
May 2, 1837. 
sept. 25, 1837. 
Nov. .'), 1838. 
Nov. 11. 1839. 
Nov. 2, 1840. 
Nov. 6, 1841. 
Nov. 14, i842. 
Dec. 4, 1843 
Dec 2, 1844. 


R Ellis. 

J. Grimes. 

S. H. Everett. 

S H Everett. 

No Presid't Elected. 

A. Jones 

J A. Greer. 

J. A. Greer. 

J. A Greer. 

.1 A Greer. 


K. Scurry. 
A. Robinson. 
W. F. Gray. 
J. D M'Leod. 
J D. M'Leod. 
J. D M'Leod. 
A. C. M'Farlan. 
S. Z. iloyle. 
'rotn Green. 
M E .Jewett. 


I Ingram. 
B.T Archer. 
.Jo. Rowe. 
J. M Hansford. 
D. S. Kaufman. 
D. S. Kaufman. 
K L. Anderson. 
N. ir. Darnell. 
R. Scurry 
J M Lewis. 


W. A. Feris. 
W. p Gray. 
.J. H. Shreve. 
J. W. Eldridge. 
T. W. Ward. 
J H Raymond. 
J H. Raymond. 
.J. H. Raymond. 
J IT. Itavn ond. 
.1 11 l{iiynii>nd. 



ANNEXATION ORDINANCE. 349 

^V^hereas, the President of the United States has submitted to T^xas the 
tirst and second sections of the said resolution as the basis upon which 
Texas may be admitted as one of the States of the said Union ; and 

Whereas, the existing government of the Kepublic of Texas has assented 
to the proposals thus made, — the terms and conditions of which are as 
follow : 

JOINT RESOLUTION FOR ANNEXING TEXAS TO THE UNITED STATES. 

Resolved hy the Senate and House of Bepresentatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress doth consent that, 
the territory properly included within, and rightfully belonging to, the 
Kepublic of Texas, may be erected into a new State, to be called the State 
of Texas, with a republican form of goverment adopted by the people of 
said Republic, by deputies in convention assembled, with the consent of 
the existing government, in order that the same may be admitted as one of 
the States of this Union. 

2. And he it further resolved, That the foregoing consent of Congress is 
given upon the following conditions, to-wit; First— B&xd. State to be formed 
subject to the adjustment by this Government of all questions of boundary 
that may arise with other goverments,— and the Constitution thereof, with, 
the proper evidence of its adoption by the people of said Eepublic of Texas,} 
shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, to be laid before 
Congress for its final action, on or before the first day of January, 1846.- 
xSecoJzrf— said State, when admitted into the Union, after ceding to the 
United States all public edifices, fortifications, barracks, ports and harbors, 
navy and navy yards, docks, magazines and armaments, and all other 
means pertaining to the public defence, belonging to the said Republic, 
shall retain all the public funds, debts, taxes and dues of every kind which 
may belong to or be due and owing to the said Republic ; and shall also 
retain all the vacant and unappropriated lands lying within its limits, to be 
applied to the payment of the debts and liabilities of said Republic of 
Texas, and the residue of said lands, after discharging said debts and lia- 
bilities, to be disposed of as said State may direct ; but in no event are said 
debts and liabilities to become a charge upon the Government of the United 
States. Third — new States of convenient size, not exceeding four in num- 
ber, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufiicient population, 1 
may hereafter, by the consent of said State, be iormed out of the territory ' 
thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the 
Federal Constitution ; and such States as may be formed out of that portion 
of said territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes, north lati- 
tude, commonly known as the Missouri Compromise Line, shall be admit- 
ted into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each State ask- 
ing admission may desire; and in such State or States as shall be formed 
out of said territory north of said Missouri Compromise Line, slavery or 
involuntary servitude (except for crime), shall be prohibited." 

Now, in order to manifest the assent of the people of this Republic ,as is"" 
required in the above recited portions of said resolutions, wo, the Deputies 
of tlie people of Texas in convention assembled, in their name and by their 
authority, do ordain and declare that we assent to, and accept the propo- 



350 HISTORY OP TEXAS. 

•sals, conditions and guarantees contained in the first and second sections of 
the Resolution of the Congress of the United States aforesaid. 

Mr. Mayfield moved the adoption of the Ordinance ; upon 
which question the ayes and noes were taken, and stood as 
follows : 

Aj'es — Messrs. President, Anderson, Armstrong of J., Armstrong of R., 
Baylor, Brashear, Brown, Burroughs, Caldwell, Caznean, Clark, Cuniiing- 
liam, Cuney, Darnell, Davis, Evans, Everts, Forbes, Gage, Hemphill, Hen- 
derson, Hicks, Hogg, Horton, Holland, Hunter, Irion, Jewett, Kinney, 
Latimer of R. R., Latimer of L., Lewis, Love, Lumpkin, Lusk, Lipscomb, 
Mayfield, McGowan, M'jSTeill, Miller, Moore, Navarro, Parker, Power. 
Rains, Runnels, Scott, Smyth, Standefer, Taylor, Van Zaudt, White, Wood, 
Wright and Young — 55. 

No— Mr. Bache— 1. 

The only negative vote cast was by Richard Bache, a 
grandson of Benjamin Franklin, who represented Galves- 
ton. 

On the ensuing 10th of October, the people, by a nearly 
unanimous vote, ratified the action of the convention. 
December 2d, President Polk signed the bill extending the 
laws of the United States over Texas. These laws, and the 
j^ostal service of the United States, went into operation in 
Texas February 19th, 1840; and on^that day President 
Jones relinquished the Executive authority to J. Pinckney 
Henderson, the newly-elected Governor. Thus was con- 
summated one of the most remarkable events in the civil 
liistory of the world, in which a nation voluntarily surren- 
dered its sovereignty.-j- 

t The following is a list of the principal oflScers during Jones' adminis- 
tration : Ashbel Smith and Ebenezer Allen, Secretaries of State ; George 
W. nill and William G. Cooke, Secretaries of AYar and Navy, (one office) ; 
William B. Ochiltree and John A. Greer, Secretaries of the Treasury; 
Ebenezer Allen, Attorney General; ]\Iosos Johnson, Troasui-er; James B. 
Shaw, Comptroller ; Thomas William Ward, Commissioner of the General 
Jtj-nid Offic- ; Charles Mason, Auditor; George W. Terrill and Ashbel 
Sniiih, Ministers to Great Britain, France and Spain; James Reiley and 
David S. Kauffman, Ministers to the United States: William D. Lee, Sec- 
ret., rv of Legation. 



VOTE OT^ THE ORDINANCE. 351 

At the election held on the third Monday in December, for Governor, 
.&c.. the following was the result of the vote: For Governor, J, P. Hender- 
son, 7,853 ; Dr. J. P. Miller, 1,673 ; scattering, 32. For Lieutenant Governor, 
Albert C. Horton, 4,204 ; N. H. Darnell, 4,084. 




;SDrAN WAR DANCE. 



\\ 



PART VI. 



Texas as a State. 



FROM 1847 TO 1878. 



21 



CHAPTER I. 

HENDERSON'S ADMINISTRATION— COURTS— PUBLIC DOMAIN— TEXANS IN MEXICAN 
WAR— HORTOX ACTING GOVKRNOR— WOOD'S ADMINISTRATION— PUBLIC DEBT- 
SANTA FE, AGAIN— bell's ADMINISTRATION— THE UNITED STATES PROPOSE TO BUY 
SANTA FE— PEARCE'S BOUNDARY BILL— SANTA FE SOLD— DISPUTES ABOUT LAND IN 
PETER'S COLONY. 

/pHE other States of the American union, when they 
-L became such, passed from a subordinate condition of 
colonies, or territories to the automatic condition of " States " 
— Texas on the contrary surrendered her nationality, and 
took, comparatively, a subordinate place as one of the 
members of the great confederacy. But in doing this, she 
was relieved of the burden of maintaining an army, a navy, 
a postal system, and a corps of diplomatic agents in foreign 
countries. From this time our history becomes more cir- 
cumscribed, and limited almost exclusively to our own 
immediate territory. 

Governor Henderson was inaugurated February 16th, 
1846. The constitution which had been prepared by the 
convention of the previous year, and adopted by the people, 
:fixed the Grovernor's term at two years, and invested him 
with the veto power, and provided for biennial sessions of 
the Legislature. The Supreme Court, having only appellate 
jurisdiction, was composed of one chief justice and two 
associates. The Legislature formed eight judicial districts. 
The justices of the supreme court and judges of district 
• -courts were to be nominated by the Governor, and confirmed 
by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, and were to hold office 
for six years. 



358 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

At the last session of the Congress of the Republic, 
according to the report of the Commissioner of the General 
Land Office, the total amount of the public domain subject 
to location and unsurveyed, was 181,991,403 acres.* 

Pending the annexation negotiations, the United 
States had kept on the Sabine an army of observation, con- 
sisting of two regiments of cavalry and one of infantry, 
under General Z. Taylor. On the 26th of June, 1845, this 
force, somewhat augmented, sailed from New Orleans and 
established military headquarters at Corpus Christi. 

When the annexation bill passed the United States Con- 
gress, Mr. Almonte, the Mexican Minister at Washington, 
denounced the act and demanded his passports. War with 
Mexico was seen to be inevitable ; and the Legislature 
passed a bill authorizing Governor Henderson to command 
the Texans who might be mustered into the service of the 
United States. Soon after General Taylor reached Corpus. 
Christi he was reinforced by the arrival of the regiment of 
Colonel Twiggs, who had passed through Texas by land. 
Taylor had about 4,000 men with him then. This was 
about the middle of January. On the 8th of March, the 
advance division left Corpus Christi under Colonel Twiggs, 
and Taylor's army reached the Arroyo Colorado, thirty miles 
from Matamoras, on the 18th. On the 3d of ^Tay, the 
Mexicans bombarded Fort Brown. The battle of Palo 
Alto was fought May 8th, and that of Resaca de La Palma 
on the 9th, after which the army left the territory of 
Texas. 



* Total amount of land issued by the various boards of land commissioners, 
43,543,970 acres ; of which the committee appointed to detect fraudulent claims, 
recommended 19,212.200 acres as good, the others, fraudulent. Amount issued 
by Department of War, as bounty and donation claims. 0,300.000. Total amount 
of land scrip sold ]>y the late Republic, 3GS.787 acres— making the total legal 
claims issued by Texas 25,880,093 acres; wliile the claims reported fraudulent 
were 24.331.7G4 acres. Total amount issued by th(; ]SIcxican authorities, a con- 
siderable proportion of which is supposed to be fraudulent, 22,080,000 acres. 



Henderson's administration. 359 

On the 2d of May, Texas was called upon for two regi- 
ments of cavalry and two of infantry * 

During Governor Henderson's absence from the State, 
the executive office was administered by Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor Hortonf . 

George T. Wood was inaugurated governor and John A. 
Greer lieutenant-governor, December 21st, 1847. For five 
years since the inauguration of General Houston for his 
second term, the public debt had remained tn statu quo, 
except the accumulated interest. The previous Legislature 
had recommended the sale of the public lands to the United 
States, and the scaling of the j^ublic debt. In a message 
to the Legislature, December 29th, Governor Wood said : 
"The debt must be paid. The honor of the State must 
stand without blemish. We can never expect to attain a 



* The following officers from Texas served for a longer or shorter period : J. 
P. Henderson, Major General of volunteers— gtaft", M. B. Lamar, Ed. Burleson, 
H. L. Kinnej^'and Ed. Clark. First regiment, J. C. Hays, Colonel; S. H. 
Walker, Lieutenant-Colonel ; M. Chevalie, Major. Second regiment, A. S. John- 
ston, Colonel; E. McLane, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Wells, Major. Third 
regiment, George T. Wood, Colonel; P. H. Bell, Lieutenant-Colonel, and C. 
E. Cooper, Major. Ben. McCulloch was captain of a spy company. According 
to Mansfield's Report, there were G,672 Texans mustered into the service ; 243 
were discharged from disability; 39 killed in battle; 2 died of their Avounds; 
lis died of disease; 115 deserted, and the remainder served their time out. 
According to a report from the Adjutant-GeneraVs office of Texas, Texas fur- 
■nished 8.018 men for the Mexican war. The Texans distinguished themselves 
in everj^ battle. General Taylor complimented them very highly for their 
bravery, but is said to have found great difficulty in bringing them under the 
strict rules of military discipline. 

tThe returns from the election came in very slowly, especially from the 
West, which voted strongly for Horton. When the Legislature met. it appeared 
from the returns then in, that N. II. Darnell was elected Lieutenant Governoj. 
and he was accordingly swoi-n in, and for a few days presided over the Senate. 
Subsequent returns elected Horton, and Darnell promptly resigned. D. G. 
Burnet was Secretary of State ; John W. Harris, Attorney General; Jas. B. 
Shaw, Comptroller; James H. Raymond. Treasurer; Thos. Wm. Ward, Com- 
missioner of the Land Ottice, and Wm.G. Cooke, Adjutant General. At the 
election held in 1847, for governor, there were 14.7G7 votes polled; of which 
George T. Wood received 7.154. Dr. J. B. Miller 5,10G, X. H. DarneU 1.276, 
and scattering 1.221. For Lieutenant Governor— J. A. Greer 4,890, E. H. 
Tarrant 3,5G7, Edwin Waller 2,979, and some scattering. 



OOU HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Mgh and permanent prosperity until it is done ; and the 
consummation of a purpose so noble calls for united and 
energetic action." On the 20th of March, 1848, a law was 
passed, the first section of which required all persons having 
claims against the late Republic to present them to the 
auditor and comptroller of public accounts by the first of 
JS^OA^ember, 1849. Another section required the auditor 
and comptroller to classify all the claims presented under 
this act, reducing the same to the actual par value which 
may have been realized by the late Republic. In a 
message to the Legislature in November, 1849, Grovernor 
Wood recommended that Texas creditors be paid in land 
at fifty cents an acre. Such a law was passed, but very 
few creditors chose to take the land, and the debt was still 
unsettled when Wood went out of office. 

Since the disastrous failure of the Smta Fe expedition, 
during Lamar's administration, no attempt had been made 
to extend the jurisdiction of Texas over that distant portion 
of the State. In 1846 General Kearney had taken posses- 
sion of Santa Fe in the name of the United States. In 
the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 22d, 1848, 
Mexico had ceded that territory to the United States, and 
Colonel Munroe, of the U. S. Army, was in command there. 

In 1847, Governor Henderson had called the attention of 
the Legislature to our claim to Santa Fe ; and in 1848 a 
bill passed the Legislature extending the laws of Texas 
over that portion of JVew Mexico east of the Rio Grande 
river, and Judge Beard was sent there to hold District 
Court. Colonel Munroe paid no attention to the Texas 
Judge, and proceeded to order an election of a territorial 
dele2:ate to the United States Cono-ress. Gov. Wood 
requested the Legislature to put the whole military power 
of the State under his control, that he might enforce the 
claim; but in a correspondence with the State Department 
at Washington, he was notified that if Texas attempted a 
forcible possession of Santa Fe, the Texans would be 



bell's administration. 361 

treated as intruders. In the heat of the controversy, some 
of our writers contended that if the delegate from New 
Mexico was admitted to his seat in Congress, the Texas 
delegates should withdraw, and the State resume her sepa- 
rate nationality. This question, like that of the settlement 
of the public debt, was left for the next administration. * 

At the election in the fall of 1849, P. Hansborough Bell 
was elected Governor, and John A. Greer, re-elected 
Lieutenant-Governor, j- 

P. Hansborough Bell was inaugurated Governor Decem- 
ber 21st, 1849, and held the office for two terms, having been 
re-elected in 1851. At the period of his inauguration the 
Santa Fe question occupied the attention of the peojDle, not 
only of Texas, but of the United States ; and at one time 
threatened to create a serious disturbance between the 
Northern and Southern States ; the latter generally taking 
sides with Texas. This question became linked with that 
other harrassing one, the payment of our public debt. Our 
creditors were becoming clamorous for a settlement; and 
were sending urgent petitions to Congress, assuming that 
the United States, by taking the customs revenue of the 
late Republic, had become responsible for the payment of 
such debts as had been contracted on the faith of the 
Republic pledging the customs receipts for their liquida- 
tion. 

On the 16th of January, 1850, Mr. Benton introduced 
into the United States Senate a bill providing, among other 
things, that if Texas would cede to the Unjted States a 
certain portion of territory, and relinquish all claim on the 



* Officers of the executive department during Wood's administration : 
Secretary of State, W. D. Miller; Attorney Generals, J. W. Harris, H. P. 
Brewster; Comptroller, James B. Shaw; Commissioner of Land Office, 
Thomas Wm. Ward; Adjutant-General, John D. Pitts; Auditor, J. M. 
Swisher. 

t In this election there were 21.715 votes cast. P. H. Bell received 10,310; 
G. T. Wood. 8.764: J. T. Mills. 2.032. For Lieutenant-Governor, J. A. Greer, 
10,599; J. W. Henderson, G,981 ; Johnson, 1,289. 



362 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

United States " for liabilities of the debts of Texas," &c., 
the United States would pay to Texas the sum of fifteen 
million dollars, in five Der cent, stocks, redeemable fourteen 
years after date. 

On the 29th of the same month, Mr. Clay introduced 
one of those " compromise measures " for which he was 
distinguished. This provided for settling several irritating- 
questions ; such as the admission of California ; the estab- 
lishment of the boundary line between Texas and Mexico ; 
the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, 
and the modification of the Fugitive Slave Act. The fourth 
resolution of this bill was as follows : 

*^'Besolved, That it be proposed to the State of Texas, that the United 
States will provide for the payment of all that portion of the legitimate 
and bona fide public debt of that State, contracted prior to its annexation 
to the United States, and for which the duties on foreign imports were 

pledged by the said State to its creditors, not exceeding the sum of $ , 

in consideration of the said duties so pledged being no longer applicable 
to that object, after the said annexation, but having thenceforth become 
payable to the United States; and upon the condition, also, that the said 
State of Texas shall, by some solemn and authentic act of the Legislature, 
or of a convention, relinquish to the United States any claim which it has 
to any part of New Mexico." 

Congress proceeded slowly with the settlement of this 
perplexing question. y On the 5th of August, Mr. Pearce 
introduced what has since been denominated the " Bound- 
ary Bill ;" a bill that finally became a law. ^ In the debate 
upon this bill, the speakers generally disclaimed any right 
which Texas legitimately had to the territory of Santa Fe. 
The following, from the speech of Mr. Moore, of Pennsylva- 
nia, illustrates the general tone of the debate : 

"And here let me say that, while I may, perhaps, be willing to vote for a 
reasonable sum to Texas in the settlement of this question, not one dollar 
of it would I vote as a remuneration for the territory which she thus claims ; 
but because I feel that, having annexed that State to this Union, and taken 
all her means of revenue, we are, in a measure, at least equitably, if not 
legally, responsible for the debts due from her at that time, and for the 
liquidation of which debts these revenues were pledged." 




SCENE NEAR FORT MASON. 



THE BOUNDARY BILL. 365 

In the discussion on this subject, it Wcis generally con- 
ceded that all the debts contracted by the late Republic 
were upon the faith of the revenue derived from customs, 
and it became a question of some moment as to the amount 
of said debts. According to Gouge's Fiscal History, the 
public debt of Texas, at different periods, was as follows : 
In 1836, $267,534 ; in 1837, $1,090,984 ; in 1838, $1,886,525 ; 
in 1839, $3,102,083 ; in 1840, $5,485,502 ; in 1841, $7,704- 
328 ; and in 1851, with accumulated interest, $12,436,991. 
But we have already stated that the Auditor and Comptrol- 
ler, under the direction of the Legislature, and with the 
assistance of a Legislative committee, had scaled this debt to 
a sum supposed to be equal to the par value received by the 
late Republic. In his speech before the Senate, Mr. Pearce 
fixes the equitable debt at a little less than $4,500,000. 

On the 9th of August, Mr. Pearce's bill w^as engrossed 
for a third reading, and finally passed the Senate by a vote 
of thirty to twenty. And on the 4th of September, it 
passed the House without amendment, by a vote of one 
hundred and eight to ninety-seven. It may not be improper 
to state that the creditors of Texas had marshalled in force 
in the lobby at Washington, and were energetically at work 
to secure the passage of the bill. For the benefit of our 
readers we go^j the act in full : 

An Act proposing to the State of Texas the establishment of her north 
ern and western boundaries, the I'elinquishment by the said State, of all 
territory claimed by iier exterior to said boundary, and all of her claims 
upon the United States. 

Be it enacted, etc : That the following propositions be, and tlio 
same are hereby offered to tlie State of Texas, which, when agreed to by 
the said State, in an act passed by the General Assembly, shall be binding 
and obligatory on the United States and upon the said State of Texas ; pro- 
vided, that the said agreement by the said General Assembly shall be given 
on or before the first day of December, 1850. 

1st. The Stale of Texas will agree that her boundary on the north shall 
commence at the point at which' the meridian of one hundred degrees west 
from Greenwich i-; intersected by the parallel of thirty-six degrees thirty 
minutes north latitude, and shall run from said \)o'u\t due west to tlie meri- 
<lian of one hundred and three degrees west from Greenwich;— Thence her 



366 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



boundai'y shall run due south to the thirty- second degree of north latitude 
thence on the said parallel of thirty-two degrees north latitude to the RiO 
Bravo del Norte, and thence with the channel of said river in the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

2d. The State of Texas cedes to the United States all her claim to the 
territory exlorior to the limits and boundaries which she agrees to estab- 
lish by the first article of this agreement. 

8d. The State of Texas relinquishes all claim upon the United States for 
liability for the debts of Texas, and for compensation or indemnity for the 
surrender to the United States of her ships, forts, arsenals, custom-houses, 
custom house revenue, arms and munitions of war, and public buildings, 
with their sites, which became the property of the United States at the time 
of annexation. 

4th. The United States, in consideration of said establishment of bounda- 
ry, cession of claims to territory, and relinquishment of claims, will pay to 
the State of Texas the sum of $10,000,000, in stock bearing five per cent, 
interest, and redeemable at the end of fourteen years; the interest payable 
half-yearly at the Treasury of the United States. 

5lh. Immediately after the President of the United States shall have been 
furnished with an authentic copy of the act of the General Assembly of 
Texas accepting the propositions, he shall cause the stock to be issued in 
favor of the State of Texas, as provided for in the fourth article of agree- 
ment: provided, that not more than five millions of said stock shall be 
issued until the creditors of the State, holding bonds and other certificales 
of stock of Texas, for which duties on imports were specially pledged, shall 
first file at the Treasury of the United States releases of all chums against 
the United States for or on account of said bonds or certificates, in such 
forms as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and approved 
by the President of the United States: provided, also, that nothing herein 
contained shall be construed to impair or qualify anything contained in the 
third article of the second section of the joint resolution for annexing Texas 
to the United States, approved March 1st, 1845, either as regards the 
number of States that may hereafter be formed out of the State of Texas, or 
otherwise." 

The Boundary Act was signed by the President on the 
7th of September, and immediately communicated to the 
Executive of Texas, who convened the State Legislature in 
extra session at Austin. During the Congressional discus- 
sions on the bill, a violent opposition to the measure was 
displayed in Texas, e^^pecially to that provision which 
retained in the United States Treasury five millions of the 
bonds until the Texas creditors Avere paid off. This seemed 
to throw suspicion upon Texas, and to imply that she would 
not promptly pay her indebtedness, even if the United 
States furnished the means. Again, there was opposition 



CONTROVERSY AND LITIGATION. 367 

to parting with any of her territory. Moreover, a certain 
class of politicians denounced the measure, because, as they 
asserted, the Federal Government assumed too imperious a 
tone towards a sovereign State. But the act required an 
unconditional assent, and gave but a few wrecks for consid- 
eration. 

In Governor Bell's message, he advised the military occu- 
pancy of Santa Fe ; but suggested that Texas might be 
willing to sell the vacant land there, provided the territory 
was still left under the jurisdiction of the State. But when 
the Leo-islature came to discuss the merits and demerits of 
Pearce's bill, the opposition finally yielded, and on the 2oth 
of JS'ovember a law was passed, accepting the propositions 
made by the United States in the bill ; after reciting the 
provisions of which it declares : 

1st. That the State of Texas hereby agrees to and accepts said proposi- 
tions; and it is hereby declared that the State shall be bound by the terms 
thereof, according to their true import and meaning. 

2d. That the Governor of this State be, and lie is hereby requested to 
cause a copy of this act, authenticated under the seal of the State, to be 
furnished to the President of the United States, by mail, as early as prac- 
ticable. 

The act was to take effect from and after its passage. * 
There has been a great deal of controversy and no little 
litigation in Texas, growing out of what is called " premium 
lands," given to empresarios, and companies introducing 
immigrants under contracts. During Bell's administration 
a serious difficulty arose between the settlers and the agents 
of the company that settled Peters' colony. The company 
claimed immense tracts of lands which colonists had located 
and improved. When Mr. Hedgecoxe, the agent of the 
company, attempted to run off these premium lands, he was 

* It will be seen that Texas sold 98,380 square miles, equal to 56,249,640 
acres. Had Mr. Clay's bill passed, we should have lost much more, includ- 
ing all that portion of the staked plains included in the fifty odd counties 
laid off by the Legislature iu 1876. 



368 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

driven off by the people who occupied them. This led to 
an investigation, when it was discovered that the company 
laid claim to over a million of acres of land more than they 
were entitled to. Of course their claim was disallowed, 
and the land saved to the boiia fide settlers. 

x\t the election held in the fall of 1853, Elisha M. Pease 
was elected Governor, and David C. Dickson. Lieutenant 
Governor.* 



*Officers of Executive Department, during Bell's administration : James 
Webb and Thomas H. Duval, Secretaries of State ; A. J. Hamilton and Ebe- 
nezer Allen, Attorneys-General; J. B. Shaw, Comptroller; J. H. Raymond, 
Treasurer; George W. Smyth, Land Commissioner; C. L. Mason, John S. 
Gillett and Ben. Hill, Adjutants-General; and John M. Swisher, Aditor. 

In the election iu 1851, there were 28,300 votes cast for Governor, of 
which P. n. Bell received 13,595; M. T. Johnson, 5,262; J. A. Greer, 
4.061; B. H. Epperson, 2,971; T. J. Chambers, 2,320; and there were 100 
scattering. For Lieutenant-Governor, J. W. Henderson, 9,659 ; Matt "Ward, 
7,788; Dr. C. G. Keenan, 5,740; and John S. Gillet, 2,614. For a short 
period, Mr. Henderson filled the Executive Chair, just at the close of the 
term, Mr. Bell having gone to Washington to take his scat iu Congress, to 
which he had been elected. At the election in 1853, 36,152 votes were cast 
for Governor, of which E. M. Pease received 13,091 ; Wm. B. Ochiltree, 
9,178; George T. Wood, 6,983; Lemuel D. Evans, 4,677; T.J. Chambers, 
2,449 ; John AV. Dancy, 315 ; and 459 scattering. For Lieutenant-Governor, 
David C. Dickson, 14,215; Dr. J. B. Robertson, 6,868; Jared E. Kirby, 
6,967; William C. Henry, 4,823; Richard A. Goode, 835. 



CHAPTER II. 

PEASE'S ADMINISTRATION— DEBT OP THE OLD REPUBLIC SCALED AND SETTLED — 
MEXICAN CART WAR— TAXES RELINQUISHED TO COUNTIES— POLITICAL PARTIES— 
RUNNELS' ADMINISTRATION— RAILROADS— INDIAN RESERVATIONS— CORTINA IN 
BROWNSVILLE— HO USTON'S ADMINISTRATION— POLITICAL EXCITEMENT— CORTINA 
AGAIN- FRONTIER DEFENCE— HOUSTON'S MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATURE- SECES- 
SION CONVENTION— ORDINANCE PASSED— TEXAS UNITES WITH THE NEWLY-FORMED 
CoNFEDEltACY— HOUSTON DEPOSED. 

;T7(lISHA M. pease was inaugurated Governor on 
Jt-^ December 21st, 1851 ; was re-elected in 1853, and held 
the office for four years. In his first message to the Legis- 
lature, he recommended, as of the utmost importance, that 
suitable and permanent proyision be made for the support 
of public schools ; and also for the establishment of a State 
University. He also advised the Legislature to make pro- 
vision for the establishment of asylums for lunatics, for 
orphan^, for the education of the blind, and the deaf and 
dumb. And, except the orphan asylum, all went into 
operation during his official term. 

In the debate in Congress in 1850, on the bill for the 
purchase of Santa Fe, Mr. Pearce, the author of the bill, 
opposed the reserve of five million bonds in the L^nited 
States Treasury, as he said, " Because, 1st, I do not wish the 
United States to become a commissioner in bankruptcy for 
Texas ; and, 2d, I do not wish to place Texas in the condi- 
tion of appearing to be obliged to be placed in the hands 
of a commissioner in bankruptcy." 

In the progress of events during the settlement, precisely 
that state of thino-s occurred. The creditors of Texas 
demanded better terms than the State law gave them ; and 
the United States intervened, and in a bill known as the 



370 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



Texas Debt Bill, fixed a different scale for graduating that 
debt and settling ^yith the creditors of the old Republic* 

The scale fixed for j^aying the creditors of Texas, by the 
law of February, 1845, was seventy-six and nine-tenths 
<?ents on the dollar. Three classes of debts, as scaled by 
Texas, amounted to more than that while the others were 
less. 

By an old law, the United States were under obligation to 
restrain their Indians from committing depredations on 
Spanish subjects in Spanish territory. Under this law 
Texas presented quite a bill for protecting herself against 
the incursions of Indians from the United States. This new 

* The following table exhibits the sliding scale adopted under the State 



IN BOKDS, TKEASUBY NOTES, &C. 



Ten per cent. Bonds under Act June 7, 1837 

Ten per cent. IJonds, Swartout 

Ten per cent. IJonds for naval vessels, Dawson Debt . 
Ten per cent. Bonds for naval vessels, Holford Debt . 

Ten per cent. Bonds for loan of U. S. Hank 

Ten per cent. Bonds, Funding Act, February, 1840. . . 
Eight per cent. Bonds, Funding Act, February, 1840. 
Kight per cent Treasury Bonds, Act Februxry 5, 1840 

Ten per cent. Treasury Notes, Act June 7, 1837 

Ten per cent Treasury Notes, Act June 7, 1827 

Treasury Notes without interest, Act June, 1830 



Face Value, 


Scaled Value 


prin & int. 


by the Tex- 


to July 1, 


as Law, per 


1855 


dollar. 


$1,657,803 


70 cents. 


•2H,291 


1.00 


1,211,000 


50 


411404 


50 


960,498 


87 45-100 


1,627,784 


30 cents. 


46,596 


30 


1,417,680 


20 


65,208 


1.00 


451.708 


50 


2,199,728 


25 



The facetious Gouge, on the fiscal affairs of Texas, pronounced this law 
an act of repudiation; but adds: " Far be it from us to doubt or deny the 
sovereign right of a sovereign State to cheat its creditors. This is an attri- 
bute of sovereignty which the States have never surrendered." If scaling 
a public debt to its equitable value is repudiation, Texas followed the illus- 
trious example of some ofher elder sisters. The same funny writer pro- 
posed to have a pig carved in marble and placed over the entrance to the 
Texas Treasury, because, forsooth, a pig saved Texas from a financial 
measure in which millions would have been sunk. It happened, says this 
astute writer, in this wise: "Mr. Bullock's pig ate the corn fed to Mr. 
Saligny's horses. Mr. Saligny's servant killed the pig; Mr. Bullock chas- 
tised the servant, and the honorable French Minister made it a matter of 
complaint to the Government. The matter not being satisfactorily adjusted 
Mr. Saligny complained to his brother-in-law, Mr. Humann, the French 
Minister of Finance; and the result was, the contemplated sale of Texas 
Tjonds to Messrs. Lafitte & Co., of Paris, failed." But we have had enough 
of Mr. Gouge and his Financial History of Texas. 



THE DEBT SCALED AND SETTLED. 371 

Texas debt bill required the State to relinquish all claims on 
the United States for Indian depredations during the Repub- 
lic, if the bill was accepted. In a speech of Senator Rusk, 
made in the Senate Juty 12th, 1854, he introduced a certified 
statement from Mr. Shaw, the Comptroller of Texas, show- 
ing that Texas had expended for protection of the frontier 
against Indians during the Republic: ^3,815,011; in the 
new Texas debt bill, the United States proposed to add to 
the previous price paid for Santa Fe, two million seven 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was estimated that 
this sum, in addition to the five million bonds still in the 
treasury, would pay all the debts for which the United 
States had become resj)onsible ; paying each one, as per 
agreement, seventy-six and nine-tenths cents on the dollar 
on their respective claims. In addition to which the State 
must relinquish its claim of nearly four millions of dollars, 
for protection of the frontier. This bill w^as very objectiona- 
ble to the Texans ; so much so that at the election when, 
by proclamation of the Governor, the people were requested 
to vote on it, of the 45,000 who voted, 11,609 were for 
accepting the bill ; 13,818 against it, and the others did not 
vote on it at all. Governor Pease, in his message to the 
Legislature, says : 

"The amount of this debt, on the 1st of July, 1850, as acknowledged by 
om- laws, was $4,43o,638.78. If we were to pay it with interest from the I'^t 
of July, 1850, to the time of payment, (and I presume no one will contend 
that, if the United States and the creditors were to consent to its payment 
according to our own laws, we would be justified in refusing to pay the 
same rate of interest that the stock is drawing) , we would have left out of 
the five millions the sum of $705,452.32. 

" If we accede to this Act, we shall receive out of the five millions, the sum 
of $179,163.93, after paying the creditors according to its provisions, and 
also paying to those creditors whose pro rata will be less than we owe 
them, the difference between what we admit to be due them and their pro 
rata, so that in a pecuniary view we lose but $526,288.39 by accepting this 
Act, instead of paying the debt in accordance with our own laws." 

The Legislature finally passed the bill; and under its 
provisions, every creditor of the old Republic filed a receipt 



372 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

in full in the Treasury Department of the United States, and 
received his pay. Texas was then out of debt ; and, as 
shown by the report of the Comptroller, there was in the 
State treasury, exclusive of the school fund, $1,592,742. 

The extensive frontier of Texas, almost entirely destitute 
of population, afforded slaves an opportunity to make their 
escape into Mexico ; and it was sup^^osed that the lower 
class of Mexicans aided them in their flight. While Texas 
was at peace, Mexico was convulsed with perpetually recur- 
ring revolutions, and not a few of the citizens of the former 
Republic sought a home in Texas. Many of this class had 
been Peons — indentured servants — at home, and readily 
associated with the servile population of Texas ; some inter- 
marrying with negro women. It was thought this imper- 
rilled the institution of slavery, and public meetings were 
held at Austin, Gonzales and other towns in Western 
Texas, and resolutions adopted protesting against the 
employment of Mexican laborers. But South-western Texas 
was largely represented by Mexican citizens; and their 
countrymen from the other side of the Rio Grande contin- 
ued to seek employment in Texas. Many of them engaged 
in transporting goods from the western seaports to the 
interior ; and as they lived very cheaply, and drove ox- 
carts, they could carry freight at lower prices than regular 
American freighters. The latter determined to break up 
the ox-cart business. Bands of armed men collected in 
Karnes and Goliad and some other counties, and assailed 
the Mexican trains, in some instances killing the drivers 
and driving off their oxen. Governor Pease, when informed 
of this state of things, visited San Antonio, and after inquir- 
into the facts connected with " The Cart War," called out a 
company of seventy-five men, and put a stop to the unlaw- 
ful interference with the cart-men. 

In Governor Pease's message to the Legislature, at its 
session in the fall of 1855, he says : 




E. M. PEASE. 



EXTEACTS FKOM MESSAGE ON FINANCE. 375 

'' Tfc gives me no ordinary pleasure to welcome you to the Capita], and to 

coiioiuuilate you upon the present condition of the State. We are receiv- 

i.ig lar^'e accessions to our wealth and population ; our citizens are in the 

.iju\ ment of a healthful season and an abundant harvest ; every branch of 

I'histry receives its liberal reward, and our inhabitants are prosperous 

"l 'lappy in a degree unexampled in our former history." 

We copy Other paragraphs from the same message, on 
the subject of finance : 

^ " For the last four years, as you are aware, the State taxes have been re- 
linquished to the counties, and the expenses of the government have been 
paid from the bonds received from the United States government in the set- 
tlement of our Northwest boundary. 

"Theamouatof these bonds now remaining in the Treasury is $1,575,- 
000, and if we continue to rely upon them to meet the expenses of the gov- 
ernment, they will, with the interest accruing on them, pay these expenses 
for about eight 5'ears. 

''But these bonds having been received as the consideration for our relin- 
quishment of the right of soil and jurisdiction over a portion of the terri- 
tory acquired by our revolution, ought not to be expended for temporary 
purposes ; they ought rather to be husbanded and used for objects of public 
utiUty, permanent in their character. 

"The main reason a'^signed for relinquishing the State tax to the counties, 
was to enable them to build court-houses and jails. Those counties which 
have naade a judicious use of this tax are now supplied with these buildings, 
and this reason can no longer be urged. 

^ "I am opposed to any future relinquishment of the State tax to the coun- 
ties, and think that it should be relied on to meet the ordinary expenses of 
the government; this course will probably tend to economy in these ex- 
penses, for where the means for the support of a government are derived 
from a direct tax upon the people, it will be found that they are more watch- 
ful to prevent lavish and improvident appropriations, and hold their officers 
to a more rigid accountability. 

"If we act upon these suggestions, we will still have to use a portion of 
these bonds to meet the outstanding appropriations for the years 1854 and 
1855, and also for the appropriations for the year 1856, as the taxes assessed 
for that year will not be collected until 1857."* 

* During Pease's administration, the principal offices in the executive 
department were tilled as follows : Edward Clark, Secretary of State ; James 
B.Shaw, Comptroller; James II. Raymond, Treasurer; Thomas J. Jen- 
nings and James VVilley, Attorneys-General; Stephen Crosby, Land Com- 
missioner. 

At the election in 1855, there were 46,339 votes cast for Governor- of 
which E. II. Pease received 26,336; David C. Dickson, 17,968; scattering, 
1,036. For Lieutenant-Governor, Hardin K. Runnels received 21,073; W. 

22 



376 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Hardin R. Runnels was inaugurated Governor, December 
21st, 1857. During that year a very severe drouth pre- 
vailed in a considerable joortion of the State ; but popula- 
tion and wealth continued to flow in from the older States, 
and his administration includes a prosj^erous era in our 
histor3\ 

The Governor, in his message, complains of the slow 
progress of railroads, notwithstanding the immense land 
donations, and the loan of $6,000 per mile from the school 
fund, for every mile of completed road. He advised the 
Legislature to grant no more charters, and to hold the 
companies already chartered to a rigid accountability. 



G. W. Jowers, 17,817, and Andrew Neill, 4,300. At the election in 1857 
there were 56,180 votes polled; of which Hardin R. Runnels received 32,- 
552, and Sam Houston 23,628. For Lieutenant-Governor, F. R. Lubbock, 
33, 379 ; Jesse Grimes, 20,818, and F. Smith, 878. 

It was during Pease\s administration that political parties were organ- 
ized in Texas. The State had been introduced into the Union under the 
auspices of the Democrats, and the great mass of tlie people were of that 
party. The Constitution of 1845 was in accordance with the principles of 
the Democracy. Banks and banking were prohibited, and the State was 
prohibited from taking stock in any corporation. At the election in 1853, 
Pease bad five or six competitors for the oflS^ce. Any one who chose to do 
so, announced himself a candidate for any elective office ; and men were 
elected on pei-sonal considerations. Sometimes an apparently frivolous 
circumstance affected the election. General Houston often remarked, in a 
jesting manner, that in a parenthesis he had made Lamar President. In 
his first draft of his official report of the battle of San Jacinto, he di(^ not 
mention Lamar's name ; but when he came to revise it, lie threw in a par- 
enthetical sentence, mentioning the heroic feat of Lamar, on the afternoon 
of April 20th. On the contrary, Hendei'son said that by the omission of 
Wood's name, in an official report of one of the battles of Mexico, he had 
made him his successor. Wood had behaved with distinguished gallantry, 
and his men felt that he had been slighted in the report, and to compen- 
sate him, elected liim Governor on his return from Mexico. In 1854, the 
Know-Nothing party was organized, and that party for a time had a large 
number of lodges in Texas; in some counties electing local officers; and in 
1855, returning L. D. Evans to Congress from the eastern district. Dr. 
Dickson, the Know-Nothing candidate against Pease, received some 4,000 
more votes than had ever before been given for Governor. But he lacked 
still several thousand of an election. After that campaign, the Know- 
Nothing party ceased to be a factor in Texas politics. 



LOCAL DISTURBANCES. 377 

While there was general peace throughout the State, 
there were some local disturbances. The Indians who had 
been collected upon the reservation in Young county, proved 
a source of irritation. They had stocks of horses and cattle ; 
and the frontier settlers had similar stocks. The Indians 
were accused of committing depredations upon the property 
of the whites ; quarrels followed, in which a number of the 
Indians were killed. The result was they had to be re- 
moved from Texas. There was also trouble on the Rio 
Grande. It was during this administration that Juan JN". 
Cortina commenced his depredations on that frontier. He, 
on the 1st of October, took military possession of Browns- 
ville ; but was soon driven back into Mexico.''' 



* The Know-Nothiiig party had but a brief career in Texas. It was a 
secret society, and secret political societies are conti-ary to the genius of our 
institutions. It was said to have had tests of a religious character ; and that 
is contrary to the American Constitution. Again, it was said to array one 
race against anotlier; and that, in Texas, which invited inhabitants of all 
nationalities to become citizens, was unwise and impolitic. For the infor- 
mation of those not familiar with the political controversies of our country, 
it may be proper to remark, that for the admission of Missouri into the 
Union, Mr. Clay introduced one of his compromise measures, which declared 
that hereafter all States formed north of the line of thirty-six degrees, 
thirty minutes, should exclude the institution of domestic slavery, but that 
south of that degree slavery might be adopted or excluded. The compro- 
mise measure introduced by Mr. Clay in 1850, provided that California 
should be admitted as a free State ; and that the Territories of Utah and 
New Mexico should be formed without any provision concerning slavery; 
that the slave trade should be prohibited in the District of Columbia; and 
that a fugitive slave law should be enacted, providing for the return to 
their owners of slaves escaping to a free State. 

What was called the Squatter Sovereignty doctrine, incorporated by Sen- 
ator Douglas into the Kansas-Nebraska bill, introduced into the United 
States Senate in December, 1854, virtually repealed the Missouri Com|)ro- 
mise. It declared that tliat compromise, ^' being inconsistent with th'i 
principles of non-intervention by Congress with slavery in the States and 
Territories, as recognized by the legislation of 1850, commonly called the 
Compromise measures, is liereby declared inoperative and void, it beiiig the 
true intent and meaning of this act, not to legislate slavery into any Terri- 
tory or State, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof 
perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own 
way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States." 



378 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The operation of the " Kansas-Nebraska " bill, was not 
as favorable to the South as its friends had anticipated. In 
the intense sectional excitement of the period, it became 
apparent that unless some action was taken by the united 
South, Kansas would become a free State. Grovernor 
Runnels called the attention of the Legislature to this 
subject. In accordance with the Governor's suggestion, the 
Legislature, in February, 1858, passed a joint resolution 
on the subject. The preamble announced that a portion of 
the population of Kansas were determined by force to 
exclude the citizens of the slaveholding States from a just 
and peaceful participation in the use and enjoyment of the 
common property and territory, &c., and passed the follow- 
ing resolution : 

Resolved, &c., That the Governor of the State is hereby authorized to 
order an election for seven delegates, to meet delegates appointed by the 
other Southern States in convention, v^henever the Executives of a major- 
ity of the slaveholding States shall express the opinion that such convention 
is necessary to preserve the equal rights of such States in the Union, and 
advise the Governor of this State that measures have been taken to meet 
those of Texas. 

The Grovernor was further authorized to call an extra 
session of the Legislature, if he deemed it necessary, to 



Under the Missouri Compromise, Nebraska and Kansas would have been 
free States. This bill gave the people of the South permission, if they 
chose to do so, to enter them with their slaves, and was generally acceptable 
to the South. Senator Houston voted against it, predicting that it would 
practically exclude slavery, even from Kansas. That vote was condemned, 
and he was left out of the Senatorial delegation. 

When Texas was admitted into the Union, there were but two political 
parties in the United States : the Democrats and the Whigs. At the election 
in 18^8 a new party, opposed to any more slave territory, put Mr. Van 
Buren in the field as a candidate for the Presidency. General Taylor, the 
Whig candidate, was elected, though Texas voted for Mr. Cass. By the 
time of the Presidential election in 1856, the Whig party had ceased to exist ; 
having, in the North, been generally absorbed by the Kepublicau party, 
which chose John C. Fremont for its Presidential candidate. Millard 
Fillmore was the candidate of the Whigs. Mr. Buchanan, the Democratic 
candidate, was elected. 



HOUSTON ELECTED GOVERNOR 379 

consider this subject, and even to make arrangements for 
a convention of the people, representing the sovereignty of 
the State. 

At the election held in the fall of 1859, Mr. Runnels was 
the regular Democratic nominee, and Sam Houston again 
ran as an Independent candidate.* Houston was elected. f 

Sam Plouston was inaugurated Governor, December 21st, 
1859. It was a period of intense political excitement. The 
great canvass was just opening which resulted the next 
year in the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of 
the United States. Houston had been elected over Mr. 
Runnels, the regular nominee of the Democratic party in 
Texas ; but he found himself not in harmony with the 
Legislature. Fires, supposed to be incendiary, were of 
frequent occurrence. The Indians, after their removal from 
the reservation, had been more hostile and barbarous than 
ever. On the Rio Grande frontier, Cortina was committing 
frequent depredations, sometimes crossing to the Texas side 
and coimmitting murders and thefts. After sending two 
commissioners to the Rio Grande to obtain accurate infor- 
mation, the Governor dispatched Major Forbes Britton to 
Washington, to secure protection on that border. The 
result was an order from the War Department to Colonel 
Robert E. Lee, then in command in Texas, to cross the 
river, if necessary, and break up Cortina's band. The 
Governor acted with equal promptness in his efforts to 
protect the frontier. Five days after his inauguration, he 
ordered Capt. W. C. Dalrymj)le to raise a company of sixty 
men for frontier protection. This was followed in a few 
days by similar orders to Captains Ed. Burleson, and John 



♦Executive officers during Runnels' administration: T. S. Anderson, 
Secretary of State; Clement R. Johns, Comptroller; C. H. Randolph, 
Treasurer; F.M.White, Commissioner of Land Office; M. D. Graham, 
Attorney-General. 

t At the election, 64,027 votes were cast ; for Houston, 36,257 ; for Runnels 
-27,500. 



380 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

C. Connor. In February, three other companies of twenty- 
five men each were called out, under Lieutenants White, 
Salmon and Walker 

The frontier being still harassed, on the 9th of March, 
the Governor authorized the Chief Justice of each of the 
frontier counties to call out, at any time necessary, a com- 
2)any of fifteen men ; and Captain Peter Tomlinson was 
authorized to raise a comj^any of forty-eight men to range 
between the Frio and Rio Grande. Colonel M. T. Johnson 
organized an expedition to pursue the Indians into their 
own country. Later in the year. Captain L. S. Ross pur- 
sued a party of savages that had been committing serious 
depredations in Palo Ponto and Jack counties, and severely 
23unished them; recovering Cynthia Ann Parker, taken 
prisoner at the Parker's Fort massacre in 1836. 

These disturbances did not, could not, divert attention 
from the exciting scenes of the Presidential election of 1860. 
Houston had addressed letters to the Governors of other 
Southern States, suggesting concerted action. He i^iet with 
no favoraMe response. On the 17th of December he issued 
a proclamation, convening the Legislature in extra session, 
January 21st, 1861. In his message, referring to the subject, 
he says : 

*'Tlie Executive feels as deeply as any of youi* honorable bodv, the neces- 
sity for such action on the part of the slaveholding States as will secure to 
the fullest extent every right they possess. Self-preservation, if not a man- 
ly love of liberty inspired by our past history, prompts this determination. 
But he cannot feel that these dictate hasty and unconcerted action, nor can 
he reconcile to his mind tiie idea that our safety demands an immediate 
separation from the Government, ero we have stated our grievances or de- 
manded redress. A high resolve to maintain our constitutional rights, and 
failing to obtain them, to risk the perils of revolution, even as our failiers 
risked it, should, in my opinion, actuate every citizen of Texas; but we 
should remember that we owe duties and obligations to States having rights 
in common with us, and whose institutions are the same as ours. No 
aggression can come upon us which will not be visited upon them, and 
whatever our action may be, it should be of that character which will bear 
lis blameless to posterity, should the step be fatal to the interests of those 
States. 

"While deploring the election of Messrs. Lincoln and Hamlin, the Exec- 



Houston's sentiments. 381 

utive yet has seen in it no cause for the immediate and separate secession of 
Texas. Believing, however, that the time had come wlien the Southern 
States should co-operate and counsel together, to devise means for the main- 
tainance of their constitutional rights and to demand redress for the griev- 
ances thev have been suffering at the hands of many of the Northern States, 
lie has directed his efforts to that end. Believing that a convention of the 
character contemplated by the Joint Resolution of February 16th, 1858, 
would be held, and desiring that the people of Texas should be represented 
in the same and have full opportunity to elect delegates reflecting their will, 
he ordered an election for that purpose to be held on the first Monday in 
February next. Although since that time four of the Southern States have 
declared themselves no longer members of the Union, yet he confidently 
looks forward to the assembling of such a body. A majority of the South- 
ern States have as yet taken no action, and the efforts of our brethren of the 
border are now directed toward securing unity of the entire South. The 
interests of Texas are closely identified with the remaining States, and if 
by joining her counsels with theirs, such assurances can be obtained, of a 
determination on the part of the Northern States to regard our Constitu- 
tional rights, as will induce the States which have declared themselves out 
of tlie Union to rescind their action, the end attained will silence whatever 
reproaches the rash and inconsiderate may heap upon us." 

The sentiments of Grovernor Housion were not in harmony 
with those of the Legislature or the leading politicians of the 
State. Instead of waiting until the first Monday in February, 
and electing delegates to a Convention of the Southern States, 
as contemplated in the act of February, 1858, and ordered 
by Houston's proclamation, the people, by common consent, 
on the 8th of January, elected delegates to a State Conven- 
tion. The Convention was composed of two members for 
every member of the House of Representatives ; and met 
in Austin, January 23d, 1861. It was organized by electing 
Oran M. Roberts president, and R. T. Browning secretary. 
Though the Convention had met without a special summons 
from the Executive of the State, it was promptly recognized 
by the Legislature, and Governor Houston announced that 
he would not stand in the way of the wishes of the people 
of the State. It was evident that the ordinance of seces- 
sion would be passed by an overwhelming majority. Fif- 
teen years before, the Texans were so anxious to get into 
the Uni(m that they were impatient at the necessary delay 
in effecting that measure, and a proposition was introduced 



382 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

into Congress to displace President Jones, and inaugurate 
a Government ad interim, to hasten annexation. Thev were 
now in a much greater hurry to precipitate the act of seces- 
sion. The first day of the session of the Convention was 
spent in debating the question of submitting the ordinance 
to a vote of the people. That was decided by a vote of 
140 for, and 28 against submitting it to a popular vote. 

The Ordinance of Secession, as finally passed,'^ was as 
follows : 

An Ordinance to Dissolve the Union between the State of Texas and the 
other States, united under the compact styled " The Constitution of the 
United States of America J'^ 
Section 1st. Whereas, the Federal Government has failed to accomplish 

the purposes of the compact of Union between these States in giving protec- 



* Vote. — Yeas. — Mr. President, Abercrombie, Allen, J. M. Anderson, T. 
S. Anderson, Armstrong, Askew, Adams, Batte, Beasly, Box, Burditt, 
Burroughs, Burton, Blythe, Braliau, Brown, Black, Broadus, Casey, T. J. 
Chambers, >ym. Chambers, J. G. Chambers, Campbell, Charlton, Chisan, 
Clayton, Cook, Chilton, Clark, Jr., Cleveland, Coke, Davidson, Devine, 
Diamond, Donelson, Dougherty, Dancy, Deen, Davenport, Wm. W. Dia- 
mond, Dunham, Early, Edwards, Field, Flournoy, Ford, Full, Feeiiey, 
Spencer Ford, Frost, Galloway, Gold, Graham, Green, Gawhal, Robert 
Graham, Gray, Gregg, Henderson, Herbert, Hill, Hogg, Hooker, Howard, 
Hays, Hicks, Hobby, Holt, Hord, Hoyle, Hutchison, Ireland, Jennings, 
Jones, Kelly, Koester, Latham, Lasseur, Lester, Locke, Lubbock, Lea, Lit- 
tleton, Lofton, Luckett, MaKby, Maxey, M'Craven, M'Cray, Miller, Thomas 
Moore, T. C. Moore, Montel, Muller, Marshall, Lewis W. Moore, M"In- 
tosh, M'Craw, Mills, Moss, Nash, Neal, Newsom, Nichols, Nicholson, 
Noendorf, Nelson, Nayland, A. J. Nicholson, Norris, Obenchain, Ochiltree, 
Oldham, Palmer, W. K. Payne, W. M. Payne, Peck, Pope, Pendergrast, 
Poag, Portis, Preston, Price, Rainey, Reagan, Rector, Robertson, Rogers, 
J. C. Robertson, Rliome, Wm. P. Rogers, James H. Rogers, Ross, Rugely, 
Runnels, Scarborough, Scurry, S. S. Smith, G. Smith, Scott, Shepherd, 
Stell, Charles Stewart, J. G. Stewart, Stockdale, Wm. H. Stewart, Taylor, 
B. F. Terry, N. Terry, Thomason, Todd, Thompson, Waller, Walworth 
Warren, AVard, Watkins, Weir, AVharton, AViley, AVilson, Wilcox, Benja- 
min Williams, Work, — 167. 

Noes. — Hughes, Johnson of Lamar, Johnson of Titus, Shuford,^ Throck- 
morton, Williams of Lamar, and Wright. 

At tlie re-assembling of the Convention, March 2d, the following names 
were added to the yeas: Bagby, Chambers, Baxter, Cox, Hall, Harrison^ 
Henderson, Henry, Hunt, Jones, Mattox, Montgomery, M'Call, Nash, 
Stapp, Russel, Wilson, Word. 



SECESSION ORDINANCE. 385 

tion eithei* to the persons of our people upon an exposed frontier, or to the 
property of our citizens; and, whei-eas, the action of the Northern States of 
the Union is violative of the compact between the States and the guaranties 
of the Constitution ; and, whereas, the recent developments in Federal 
affixirs make it evident that the power of the Federal Government is sought 
to be made a weapon with which to strike down the interests and prosper- 
ity of the people of Texas and her sister slave-holding States, instead of 
permitting it to be as was intended, our shield against outrage and aggres- 
sion, therefore, '' We, the people of the State of Texas, by Delegates in 
Convention assembled, do declare and ordain that the Ordinance adopted 
by our Convention of Delegates on the fourth (4th) day of July, A. D., 
1845, and afterwards ratified by us, under which the RepubUc of Texas 
was admitted into the Union with other States, and became a party to the 
compact styled ' The Constitution of the United States of America,' be and 
hereby is repealed and annulled." 

That all the powers which, by the said compact, were delegated by Texas 
to the Federal Government, are revoked and resumed. That 'Texas is of* 
right absolved from all restraints and obligations incurred by said com- 
pact, and js a separate sovereign State, and that her citizens and people are 
absolved from all allegiance to the United States or the Government thereof. 

Sec. 2d. This ordinance shall be submitted to the people of Texas for 
their ratification or rejection by the qualified voters, on the 23d day of 
February, 1861 ; and, unless rejected by a majority of the votes cast, shall 
take eflfect and be in force on and after the second day of March, A. D. 
1861 ; Provided, that in the representative district of El Paso, said election 
may be held on the 18th day of February, 1861. 

Done by the people of the State of Texas, in Convention assembled, at 
Austin, this first day of February, A. D., 1861. 

The act of the Convention was hailed with the liveliest 
demonstrations of popular joy. Bells were rung, salutes 
were fired, and the following night the Capitol was illumi- 
nated. After the passage of the ordinance, both the Con- 
vention and the Legislature adjourned. On the 9th of 
February Governor Houston issued his proclamation for an 
election to be held, in accordance with the ordinance of the 
Convention, on the 23d of February ; the people to vote for 
or against secession. At the election 39,415 voted for, and 
13,841 against secession. 

The Convention re-assembled on the 4th of March. A 
committee was sent to hold a conference with the Governor, 
and to announce to him, that Texas was now " a free, sover- 
eign and independent State." The Governor protested 



386 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

against any further action on the part of the Convention ; 
and contended that, having passed the ordinance of secession 
and submitted it to the people, their functions ceased.* The 
Convention, however, continued in session, and on the same 
day passed the following ordinance, uniting Texas with the 
new Confederation which had been formed at Montgomery : 

An Ordinance in relation to a Union of the State of Texas with the Con- 
federate States of America. 

WiiEUEAS, the Convention of this State has received information that 
the Congress of the Confederate States of America, now in session at tlie 
city of Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, has adopted a Constitution 
for a Provisional Government, which Constitution is modeled on that of the 
United States of America; and whereas, as a seceding State, it becomes 
'expedient and proper, that Texas should join said Confederacy, and share 
its destinies ; and whereas, a delegation consisting of seven members has 
already been elected by the Convention to the Congress of the Confederacy 
aforesaid, therefore, 

The people of Texas in Convention assembled, have ordained and 
declared, and do hereby ordain and declare, that the delegation 
aforesaid to the Congress afbresaid, be and they are hereby instructed, 
and we do accordingly instruct them, in behalf of the State, and as repre- 
senting its sovereign authority, to apply for the admission of this State into 
said Confederacy, and to that and for that purpose, to give in the adhesion 
of Texas to the Provisional Constitution of said Confederate States; and 
which said Constitution this Convention hei-eby approves, ratifies, and 
accepts. 

Skc. 2. Be it further ordained, That the delegation, appointed by this 
Convention to the Congress of the Confederate States be, and they are 



*Up to the time of secession, there had been but two Presidents of the 
Senate elected : Edward Burleson, of the first Legislature, and Jesse Grimes, 
of the succeeding Legislatures, up to the eighth. H. P. Bee was Secretary 
of the first Senate; N. C. Raymond, of the second and third; W. D. Miller, 
of the fourth; James F. Johnson, of the fifth and sixth; R. T. Browning, of 
the seventh, and James F. Johnson, of the eighth. 

W. E. Crump was Speaker of the first Legislature; J. W. Henderson, of 
the second; C. C. Keenan, of the third; D. C. Diclcson, of the fourth; II. R. 
Runnels, of the fifth; II. P. Bee, of the sixth; Wm. S- Taylor, of the sefventh, 
and M. D. K. Ta\lor, of the eighth. James H. Raymond was Chief Clerk 
of the House of the first Legislature; B. F. Hill, of the four succeeding' 
Legislatures (with J. W. Hampton for the extra session of the third Legis- 
lature) ; PI D. ]\FIvinney, of tiie sixth; II. H. Haynie, of the seventh, and 
Wm. Leigh Chambers of the eighth. 



TEXAS JOINS THE CONFEDERACY. 387 

tiereby authorized to act in said Congress, as the duh'^ accredited represen- 
tatives of the State of Texas. Provided, however, tiiat any permanent 
Constitution which may be formed by said Congress, shall not become obli- 
gatory on this State, until approved in such way as sluill be determined 
upon 

Sec. 3. Be it further ordained, That tlie President of the Convention 
immediately transmit, through such channel as he may select, a copy or 
copies of this Ordinance, to the Congress at Montgomery, and the members 
of Couffress from this State. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE WAR— CLARK'S ADMINISTRATION — SURRENDER OF UNITED STATES PROPERTY AT 
SAN ANTONIO AXD IN THE SOUTH-WEST— INDIANS HOSTILK— WAULIKK PKKPaKA- 
TIONS ON A LARGE SCALE- THE BLOCKADE— LUBBOCK'S ADMINISTUAITOX— STATE 
PUOSPEKOUS— AHIZOXA EXPEDITION— FEDKRALS TAKE POSSESSION OF GALVESTON — 
MAGKUDEK IN COMMAND IN TEXAS— RECAPTURE OF GALVESTON BY THE CON FED. 
ERATES — FEUERALS REPULSED AT SABINE PASS — CONSCRIPT LAW— MARTIAL LAW — 
''COTTON (iKDKRS "—HOUSTON ON MARTIAL LAW— MUKRAIl'S ADMINISTRATION — 
FINE CROPS — THE FEDERALS IN THE SOUTH-WEST— FIGHTING IN LOUISIANA — "COT- 
TON ORDERS" AGAIN — MURRAH VS. MAGHUDER— CONFEDERATE ARMIES DL^BAND. 



/^N the 14th of March, an ordinance passed the Convention 
^^ requiring all State officers to take the oath of loyalty 
to the Constitution promulgated by the Convention at Mont- 
gomery. Governor Houston and Mr. Cave, Secretary of 
State, declining to take said oath, their offices were declared 
vacant, and Mr. Ed. Clark, the Lieutenant-Governor, was 
duly installed Governor. The other public officers taking 
the required oath were continued in office. Agreeably to 
adjournment, the Legislature reassembled March 18th. 
Ex-Governor Houston sent a message to that body, protest- 
ing against his removal and the usurjDation of the functions 
of his office by Governor Clark. 

On the 20th of January, 1860, Governor Houston sent 
General J. M. Smith on a confidential mission to General 
Twiggs, at San Antonio^ inquiring what disposition would 
be made of the public property belonging to the United 
States in the department? To this inquiry Gen. Twiggs 
replied : " I am without instructions from Washington, in 
regard to the disposition of the public property here, or of 
the troops, in the event of the State's seceding. After 
secession, if the Executive of the State makes a demand on 
the Commander of the Department, he will receive an 



Clark's administeation. 389 

Edward Clark, the Lieutenant-Governor, having taken 
the prescribed oath to the Southern Confederacy, was sworn 
in as Governor on the 16th of March, but General Houston 
continued to occupy the oflflce building of the Governor 
until the morning of the 18th, when Mr. Clark entered the 
room before Houston reached it in the morning, and remain- 
ed in undisputed possession. 

There were at that time about twenty-five hundred United 
States soldiers guarding the frontiers of Texas ; all under 
command of Major-General Twiggs. The Convention had 
appointed commissioners to receive the public propertv ; 
and the following agreement was entered into just after Clark 
became Governor : 

San Antonio, Feb. 18th, 1861. 

The undersigned, commissioners on tne part of the State of Texas, fully 
empowered to exercise the authority undertaken by them, have formally 
and solemnly agreed with Brvt. Maj. Gen. David E. Twiggs, U. S. A. 
commanding the Department of Texas, that the troops of the United States 
shall leave the soil of the State, by the way of the coast; that thev shall 
take with them the arms of their respective corps, including the battery at 
Fort Duncan and the battery of the same character at Fort Brown, and 
shall be allowed the necessary means for regular and- comfortable move- 
ment, provi'^ions, tents, etc., etc., and transportation. 

It is the desire of the Commission, that there shall be no iufraction of this 
agreement on the part of the State. It is their wish, on the contrary, that 
every facility shall be afforded the troops. They are our friends. Thev 
have heretofore afforded to our people all the protection in their power, 
and we owe them every consideration. 

The public pro^^erty at the various posts, othei- than that above recited for 
the use of the troops, will be turned over to agents to be appointed by the 
Commission, who will give due and proper receipts for the whole to the 
oflacers of the army, whom the^ relieve in their custody of the public 
property. 

Thos. J. Dp:vine, 

P. N. LUCKETT, 

S. A. Mavekick. 
Commissioners on behalf of Committee of Public Safety. 

In accordance with this agreement, the United States 
soldiers marched to Green Lake, near Indianola, ready to 
embark ; and the Government sent an unarmed steamer, 
the Star of the West, to remove them. The steamer was 



390 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

captured by Colonel Earl Van Dorn ; and Major Sibley 
chartered a couple of sail-vessels, upon which he embarked 
his men. A norther sprung up, and Sibley was unable to 
procure a pilot. While in the bay, Colonel Van Dorn, with 
a few hundred volunteers, and the assistance of the steamer 
Greneral Rusk, sent from Gralveston, captured the schooner 
and soldiers. 

Governor Clark authorized Colonel Wm. C. Young to 
enlist a thousand men for service on the northern frontier. 
About the first of May, Colonel Young crossed Red river, 
and captured Fort Arbuckle and other forts in the Indian 
Territory, Major Emory retreating toward Kansas. The 
troops from the frontier posts collected in the neighborhood 
of San Antonio, and on the 9th of May, Van Dorn, with a 
large volunteer force, demanded their surrender. Officers 
were paroled, and the men agreed to leave the State. A 
few of them enlisted in the Confederate army. 

The Indians, still chafing under their forcible removal 
from their reservations, and seeing the frontier denuded of 
trooj)s, became more bold and hostile than ever. Murders 
were committed in Gillespie, Uvalde, and Kerr counties, 
and a band of the savages penetrated Atascosa county. 
Indeed the whole frontier was more or less troubled by 
their raids. An expedition from Galveston sailed down 
the coast to the mouth of the Rio Grande, to assist Colonel 
Ford in capturing the forts and i^ublic property on the 
lower Rio Grande. It was at first thought that the officer 
in command of Fort Brown would resist ; but after some 
hesitation all the public property was turned over to the 
Texas Commisssioners, Messrs. E. B. Nichols and H. B. 
Waller. 

On the 8th of June, Governor Clark issued his proclama- 
tion announcing that a state of war existed, and that Texas 
creditors were prohibited froni paying Northern debts, &c. 

On the 2d of July, a blockading squadron appeared at 
Galveston, and on the 4th seven small sailing vessels were 



LUBBOCK ELECTED GOVERNOR. 391 

captured. Soon afterward, the whole Texas coast was closed 
to commerce, excej^t by the hazardous mode of blockade- 
running. 

The whole country was alive with the military spirit. The 
State was divided into militia districts for camps of instruc- 
tion. In August the Governor appointed thirty-two Brig- 
adier Generals of militia. By the 7th of November, fifteen 
thousand men had enlisted in the Confederate army. 

At the election in 1861, F. R. Lubbock was elected Gov- 
ernor, and John M. Crockett, Lieutenant Governor.* 

*For Governor: Francis K. Lubbock, 21,854; T. J. Chambers, 13,759; 
Edward Clark, 21,730. Total, 57,343. For Lieutenant Governor ; Crockett, 
22,321; F. F. Foscue, 12,160. 

Executive Officers During Houston and Clark's Term .—Secretaries of 
State, E. AV. Cave, Bird Holland, and C. S. West ; Attorney General, G. W. 
Flournoy; Comptroller, C. R. Johns; Treasurer. C. H. Randolph; Laud 
Commissioner, F. M. White. 

Courts. — At annexation, John Hemphill became Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court, and A. S. Lipscomb and R. T. Wheeler, Associates. Tom 
Green, Clerk. In 1856, Justice Lipscomb diod, and O. M. Roberts bec:un<' 
Associate Justice. In 1850, the Court was required to hold its sessi ns alter- 
nately in Austin, Galveston and Tyler. In 1«5S, Jnsiice Hemphill was 
elected to the Senate. Wiieeler became Chief Justi'-e, and James H. Bell, 
Associate. In 1862, George F. Moore was elected Associate Justice. 

lu 1816, John C. Watrous was appointed Judge of the Federal District 
Court. In 1858 a new district was formed and Thomas H. Duval was ap- 
pointed Judge. 

In 1856, the Legislature created a Court of Claims. James C. Wilson was 
appointed Commissioner. He was succeeded in 1857 by I. A. Illingworth ; 
and in 1858 by Ed. Clark ; 1859 by Joseph Lee ; and in 1860 by William S. 
Hotchkiss. 

We have entered upon the era of the great civil war. The time has not 
arrived to write its story, or to discuss its principles with the calm spirit 
of history. It was a dark, gloomy period, in which bitter passions pre- 
vailed. Future generations will form their estimate of its men and its 
measures. We shall confine ourselves to a simple record of the facts and 
incidents as they occurred. 

Congressional Bejy7-esenfation. — Sam Houston was Senator from 1846 to 
1857 ; Thomas J. Rusk from 1845 to 1857. After Rusk's death Matt. Ward 
filled out his unexpired term, when Lewis T. Wigfall was elected. In 
1859, John Ilempliill was elected in place of Sam Houston. Wiglall and 
Hemphill resigned Avhen the State seceded. Texas was entitled to two 
Representatives in the lower House. David S. Kaufman represented the 
Eastern District from 1846 to 1851; Richardson Scurry, in 1851-53; O. W. 



392 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Mr. Lubbock was inaugurated Governor IN'ovember 7th, 
1861. Texas suffered less, probably, from the effects of 
the civil war than any other Southern State. Her numer- 
ous gulf ports offered many facilities for running the block- 
ade ; and on her southwestern border, cotton found a ready 
market in the towns of Mexico. Through these channels, 
supplies of groceries and other necessaries were procured, 
though at an advanced price. Though so large a portion of 
her able-bodied men were in the army, the old men and 
boys so managed the servants, as to raise the greatest 
abundance of corn, wheat, cotton, etc. The women, with 
great cheerfulness, submitted to the additional labors 
imposed upon them ; assisting in the field, and especially 
in the manufacture of cloth for domestic use. The inex- 
haustible salt lakes of the Southwest furnished the State, 
and could have furnished the whole Confederacy with that 
necessary article. 

In the fall of 1861, a brigade was organized at San 
Antonio, by General Sibley, for the occupancy of the Upper 
Rio Grande country. Sibley reached Fort Bliss, near El 
Paso, on the 16th of December. He marched up the river 
on the east side, and arrived within a few miles of Fort 
Craig on the 20th of February, 1862. At a place called 
Valverde, a great battle was fought on the next day. The 
Texans, after a severe fight, remained masters of the field ; 
having taken some prisoners and six pieces of artillery. 
The Federals retired to the fort. After this fight, the 
Texans advanced up the river, occupying Santa Fe on the 
23d of March. On the 27th of March, at a canon called 
Glorietta, twenty miles north of Santa Fe, a portion of the 
command was attacked by a strong force of Federals, and 
suffered a heavy loss in killed and prisoners. Some other 

Smyth, in 1854-55; Lemiiol Dale Evans, in 1856-57; and John IT. Reagan 
in 1858-61. TiniMthv Pillsbury represented the Western District from 1846 
to 1849; Volney E. koward, in 1850-58; P. H. Bell, in 1854-67; Guy M. 
Bryan, in 1858-59 ; Andrew J. Hamilton, in 1860-61. 




r. R. LUBBOCK. 



CALLS FOR TROOPS. 395 

skirmishes took place, but without any decided victory 
The last one was at Peratta, on the 23d of April. The 
command was then on the retrograde march toward Texas. 
In killed, wounded and prisoners, the brigade had lost 
about five hundred men in New Mexico. This was a 
heavier loss, but the result was not so disastrous as the 
Lamar Santa Fe expedition in 1840. The Texans found 
Forts Craig, Union, etc., too well garrisoned and strongly 
fortified to take with their slender means ; and the popula- 
tion of New Mexico, almost to a man, espoused the 
Federal cause. 

The whole power of all departments of the Government 
was exerted to fill up the ranks of the army. February 
26th, 1862, Grovernor Lubbock called for fourteen regi- 
ments, and sent them into camps for instruction. November 
29th, Greneral J. Bankhead Magruder succeeded General 
Hebert in the command of Texas. He called for ten thou- 
sand additional troops. At the close of Lubbock's adminis- 
tration, the Adjutant-General reported ninety thousand 
Texans in the Confederate armio ;. 

On the 17th of May, 1862, Commodore Eagle, of the 
blockading squadron, demanded the surrender of Galves- 
ton. It was known by the Confederates that he had no land 
forces to occupy the city, and no attention was paid to the 
demand. On the 4th of October, the demand was repeated, 
and four days allowed for the removal of non-combatants. 
The Commodore gave notice that he had a suflicient force 
to capture and hold the island. The Confederates withdrew 
to Virginia Point, six miles distant. The Commodore sent 
some of his vessels into the inner harbor, and two hundred 
and sixty men, of the 42d Massachusetts, landed and raised 
the United States flag over the Custom-House, and took a 
position on one of the wharves. This was the situation 
when General Magruder assumed command in Texas. He 
at once determined to repossess the island. The return of 
Sibley's brigade from Arizona gave Magruder a large 
23 



396 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

force of experienced soldiei's, which was augmented by 
about five thousand State troops called into temporary 
service for the protection of the coast. Preparations hav- 
ing been carefully, but secretly, completed, Gen. JNlagruder 
went to Virginia Point on the 29th of December, at the 
same time sending the Neptune and Bayou City, two bayou 
steamers fitted up as gun-boats, with the Lucy Gwinn and 
John F. Carr as tenders, to the head of Galveston Bay, 
with instructions to enter the harbor on the nio-ht of Decern- 
ber 31st, for the attack on the city. Early in the night 
designated, the land forces crossed from Virginia Point 
over to the island and silently took a position for the 
attack. The 42d Massachusetts was stationed on the 
wharf ; but had taken up the planks between their position 
and the shore. The steamer Harriet Lane was- lying at 
the wharf, and the brig Westfield, the gun-boat Owassee, 
and the Clifton, a transport, and some smaller craft, were 
lying out toward the Pass. The fight was opened by the 
troops on the island. Soon afterward, the bayou steamers 
moved up to the channel and attacked the Harriet Lane. 
The Neptune was pierced by a shell and soon sunk in shal- 
low water. The Bayou City ran up to the Harriet Lane 
and became entangled in the rigging, and could not be 
readily disengaged. The Texans promptly leaped on 
board the Harriet Lane, which soon surrendered, having 
lost her principal officers. Soon afterward, the men on the 
wharf surrendered ; and some other Federal vessels^ includ- 
ing a barque and some smaller craft, were captured by the 
Texans. The others left the harbor. The Westfield, in 
trying to get out, got aground, and to prevent her from 
fallino; into the hands of the Confederates, a train was set 
to exj^lode her. The explosion not occurring as soon as 
expected, Commodore Renshaw, with fifteen men, went 
on board to examine the fuse. While they were on the 
ship, she exploded, and all the men lost their lives. All the 
vessels left the harbor, and for a few days the port of Gal- 
veston was open to commerce. 



THE CONSCRIPT LAW. 397* 

No other important engagement took place in Texas until 
September 6th, when a fleet of twenty-odd sail appeared 
off the coast at Sabine Pass. The fort erected to defend 
the Pass had only forty-one men, under Lieutenant Dowling. 
Three or four vessels entered the harbor and commenced 
bombarding the fort. When the vessels arrived within 
good range, the guns of the fort were opened upon them, 
and in a few minutes two of the ships were disabled ; and 
the others left the harbor. The two disabled gunboats, the 
"Sachem" and "Clifton," with all their armaments and 
crews, were captured. This gallant achievement of a few 
men saved the Texas coast from a formidable threatened 
invasion. 

During Governor Lubbock's administration, the conscript 
law was enacted and enforced in Texas. This, in its various 
provisions, placed every man liable to military duty in the 
ranks. In the Governor's message to the Legislature, in 
K'ovember, 1863, he says : " I again suggest the importance 
of declaring by law, that every male person, from sixteen 
years old and upwards, not totally unfit, be declared to be 
in the military service of the State ; that no exemptions be 
allowed other than those recognized by the Constitution ; 
and that no one be permitted to furnish a substitute. I am 
clearly of the opinion that exemptions and the right to 
furnish substitutes is working great injury to the country, 
and should be abolished, both by the State and Confederate 
Government." * * The Governor states that about 
ninety thousand men had entered the Confederate service 
from Texas, besides " minute companies" not liable, under 
the present law, to military duty. The highest vote the 
State had ever polled was 64,027. 

April 28th, 1862, General Bee, in command at San An- 
tonio, proclaimed martial law over the western sub-military 
district, and on the 30th of Mav followinoj, General Ilebert 
proclaimed martial law over the whole State, in the follow- 
ino: General Order : 



398 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



Confederate States of America. 
Headquarters Department 
Houston, May 



America. "^ 
OP Texas, > 
30, 18G2. ) 



[General Order No. 45.] 

I. The following Proclamation is published for the information of all 
concerned : 

PROCLAMATION. 

II. I, p. O. Hebert, Brigadier General Provisional Army, Confederate 
States of America, do proclaim that Martial Law is extended over the State 
of Texas. 

Every white male person above the age of sixteen years, being temporarily 
or otherwise, within the aforesaid limits, shall upon a summons issued by 
the Provost Marshal, promptly present himself before said Provost Marshal 
to have his name, residence, and occupation registered, and to furui-h such 
information as may be required of him: And such as claim to bo aliens 
shall be sworn to the effect that they will abide by and maintain tlie laws 
of this State and the Confederate States, so long as they are permitted to 
reside therein, and that they will not convey to our enemies any informa- 
tion whatever, or do any act injurious to the interest of the countr\\ 

All orders issued by the Provost Marshals in the execution of their duties, 
shall be promptly obeyed. Any disobedience of summons emanating from^ 
them shall be dealt with summarily. All officers commanding troops will 
promptly comply with any requisitions made upon them by Provost Marshals 
for aid or assistance. 

Any attempt to depreciate the currency of the Confederate States is an 
act of hostility ; will be treated as such and visited with summary punish-^ 
ment. 

No interference with the rights of loyal citizens, or with the usual routine 
of business, or with the usual civil administration of the law, will be per- 
mitted, except where necessary to enforce the provisions of this Proclamation.. 
By order of 

Brigadier General P. O. Hebert, 
Provisional Army C S., Commanding Departm,ent of Texas. 

Samuel Boter Davis, 

Captain and Assistant Adjutant Oeneral. 

On the 21st of November, 1862, General Hebert issued 
an order prohibiting the exportation of cotton, except by 
authorized agents of the Grovernment. In February, 1863, 
Greneral Magruder issued a new cotton order, imposing 
additional restrictions upon the exportation of cotton across 
the Rio Grande. The papers generally condemned this 
interference with trade, as preventing the j^eople from pro- 
curing necessary supplies ; and in April the Commanding 
General issued another "order" revoking all previous 



MURRAH ELECTED GOVERNOR. 399 

'*' cotton orders,'' and permitting planters, who could procure 
teamsters not subject to conscription, to export any amount 
of cotton. But it was but a short time before other restric- 
tions were j^laced upon the Rio Grande trade. 

At the election held August 3d, 1863, Pendleton Murrah 
was elected Governor, and Fletcher S. Stockdale, Lieutenant 
Governor.* 



* For Governor there were polled: For Murrah, 17,511; T. J. Chambers, 
12,455; scattering, 1,070 — total, 31,036. For Lieutenant Governor: F. S. 
Stockdale, 11,15-2; Stephen H. Darden, 8,083; A. M. Gentry, 4,400; P. W. 
Ivittrell, 4,163; scattering, 3. 

Executive Officers. — R. J. Towns, Secretary of State ; C. E. Johns, Comp- 
troller; C. M. Randolph, Treasurer; Stephen Crosby, Laud Commissioner ; 
J. Y. Dashiell, Adjutant General; N. C. Shelly, Attorney General. 

During this administration a change gradually took place in the public 
mind. At its commencement, the great mass of the people cheerfully, even 
enthusiastically sustained the newly-formed Confederacy, and they pi'omptly 
submitted to every law and every order deemed necessary to success. A 
great majority looked upon the establishment of the Confederacj' as an accom.- 
plishcd fact ; and believed that its recognition by the governments of Europe, 
and the United States itself, was only a question of time. But the events 
of two years — the surrender of New Orleans and Memphis in 1862, and the 
fall of Vicksburg in 1863, began to beget doubts of final success. Again — 
at first the farmers obeyed, without a protest, the various " cotton orders" 
as they were issued from " Headquarters." But observation of the working 
of tlicse changing '* orders," created a suspicion that they operated to the 
injury of the planter, and inured more to the benefit of speculators than the 
Confedcra'te government; and this Mdthout impugning the motives of the 
commanding generals. Again, the conscript law and the confiscation laws 
were enforced a little too vigorously. Some in feeble health were pushed 
into the army, who ought to have been at home under the care of a doctor, 
and Willi th(-ii- friends and families. In some instances, persons who had 
spent a lifclhne in Texas were accidentally in the North, and did not, or 
perhaps co\ild not, return to their homes. Their property was seized by the 
receivei's and confiscated. 

But the subject of most dissatisfaction was the proclamation of martial 
law; and the manner of its enforcement. It was not intended, originally, 
to interfere with men in legitimate business. But under the rulings of 
young lieutenants, citizens were prohibited from going to a neighboring 
county seat witliout a passport. Venerable men, who had spent forty years 
in Texas, fell humiliated, when they had to travel a considerable distance to 
obtain from a young lieutenant permission to visit a relative, or transact 
some item of business in a neighborhood out of their county. AVhile many 
complied even with the i-equiremeuts of the "order" for the good of the 



400 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Pendleton ]\Iiirrah was inaugurated Governor Xoyember 
5th, 18G3. A large number of refugees from Louisiana^ 
Arkansas and Missouri had entered Texas with their slaves ; 
the season had been propitious, and overwhelming crops of 
corn and cotton had been produced ; the latter crop supposed 
to amount to three hundred thousand bales, the largest Texas 
had ever produced. Nearly every family had been fur- 
nished with wheels and looms, and an abundance of cloth 
was manufactured. The trade across the Rio Grande, and 
that carried on by running the blockade, kept the people 
tolerably well supplied with such necessaries as could not 
be produced in the State. But, while thus rejoicing in the 
exemption from calamities incident to the war in other 
States, the cheerful spirit which pervaded the people during 
the first years of the war was evidently on the wane. 

cause, others thought it an intolerable infringement of the rights of freemen. 
One editor, for his severe strictures upon the measure, was threatened with 
arrest and imprisonment. From its first promulgation there were some who 
denounced this order. Among the foremost were A. H. Stepheus, Vice 
President of the Confederacy; W. S. Oldham, one of the Senators from 
Texas, and others of less note. A few weeks after martial law was pro- 
claimed in Texas, ex-Governor Houston, then in retirement, wrote an 
earnest protest against it to Governor Lubbock, exhorting the Governor to 
see that the laws of the State were properly enforced, and reminding him 
that he is the swt'>rn Executive. Houston says : " A proclamation issued bv 
General Hebert, in May last, and I pi'esume not revoked, is the most extra- 
ordinary document I have ever seen, and I venture to say ever seen in any 
country, unless it was where despotic sway was the only rule of law. In 
that prochimation he abrogates all powers of your Excellency, as Governor 
of the State, ignores the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and the Laws, and 
ari'ogates to himself undefined and unlimited powers. By this i)rocIaniation 
of martial law, he has created provost mai'shals, who are authorized to 
remove citizens, upon suspicion, out of the State without trial; and call in 
the military to aid in the execution of the provost marshal's pleasure or 
■^^ill ; and has established an inquisition to all male persons over the age of 
sixteen." More tlian six montlis elapsed before tliis lei ter was given to the 
pubHc. It then appeared in tlie columns of the Houston Tdegntph. The 
murnuu'ing against the law had become so deep tliat it f>)uud utterance in 
the language of the old hero of San Jacinto. Houston was now in declining 
healtli, and died a few weeks later. It j)roduced a profound impression, 
especiallv upon tlic old Texans. who looked upon this letter as the venerable 
patriarch's dying protest against military usurpations. 



THE FINANCIAL QUESTION. 401 

The financial question was becoming more and more per- 
] Jexing.' The Legislature authorized the collectors to receive 
Confederate money at par for taxes, and to pay all officers 
of the Grovernment in the same currency, and that when 
in the market it was worth only about three or four cents 
on the dollar. People paid their taxes promptly, but the 
salary of the Governor or any other State officer would 
hardly buy his cigars, if he indulged in smoking. To con- 
sider this, and other questions, he convened an extra session 
of the Legislature, on the 11th of May, 1864. But that 
body could devise no plan of relief which did not recognize 
the depreciation of Confederate currency, and that they 
were still unwilling to do. They did, however, provide for 
exchanging the old for the new issue of Confederate bills. 

The Federals having failed to effect a landing on the 
eastern coast of Texas, next directed their attention to 
breaking up the trade carried on through Brownsville and 
Matamoras. On the day of Hurrah's inauguration, Gren- 
eral Banks took possession of Brownsville, General Bee 
retiring towards the interior of the State. Banks did not 
attempt to penetrate the interior, but advanced along the 
coast, in conjunction with a fleet of gun-boats. But few 
Confederates had been left in the West, and these were 
more for picket duty than fighting, and retired as the 
Federals advanced. The Federals took possession of 
Corpus Christi November loth, Aransas Pass on the 17th, 
Mustang Island on the 18th, and Pass Cavallo and St. 
Joseph Island on the 30th. Indianola was occupied by 
them on the 13th of December, and Lavaca on the 26th. 
A small party of Federiils crossed over to the Matagorda 
peninsula. A company of Confederates, under Captain 
Rugely, of Matagorda, in attempting to cut off this party, 
were caught in open boats by a fierce norther, and fourteen 
of his men perished. It was expected that Banks would 
advance up the coast and attempt the capture of Galveston ; 
but after a few weeks, his army retired from Indianola, 



402 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and, with the exception of a small garrison at Brownsville 
and Brazos St. Jago, evacuated Texas. 

No sooner was the West relieved from the presence of 
an invading army, than the East was threatened. Mata- 
gorda Bay was evacuated on the 13th of March, and on the 
23d of the same month, Banks took possession of Alexan- 
dria, near our eastern line. General J. Kirby Smith, who, 
since January, 1864, had been in command of the Trans- 
Mississippi Department, ordered a rapid concentration of 
troops to intercept the new advance of the Federals. A 
number of battles were soon fought ; that of Mansfield, 
April 8th, and Pleasant Hill on the 9th. The battle of 
Blair's Landing was fought April 14th. The Federals 
had been eifectually checked, and on the 26th of April 
General Steele retreated to Little Rock, and Banks to Alex- 
andria. After the retreat began the battle of Yellow Bayou 
was fought. May 18th. 

On the 12th of March, 1864, General Grant was appointed 
Commander-in-Chief of the Union forces. He at once 
began to concentrate the troops into two grand armies ; one 
in the West, under Sherman, for the capture of Atlanta, 
and a march to the sea ; and the other under his own imme- 
diate command for the capture of Richmond. The Trans- 
Mississippi Department was thus relieved from active 
participation in the ensuing campaign. General J. C. 
Walker was appointed to the command in Texas, and 
General Magruder was assigned to duty under General 
Smith, in Arkansas. 

Though Texas was free from the presence of an invading 
army, the people were not relieved of the burdens and 
inconveniences of war. Cotton continued to be in great 
demand. The Confederate officers wanted it ; the State 
Military Board wanted it ; county courts were authorized to 
export cotton to procure necessaries for soldiers' families ; 
and parties engaged in importing machinery for factories, 
were authorized to take out cotton. So many demands, 




STERLING C. ROBERTSON. 



COMPLAINT AGAINST THE MILITAEY. 405 

some of them made imperatively, upon the phmter, pro- 
duced exasperation. Further than that, it brought on a 
conflict of jurisdiction. Grovernor Murnih, in his message 
to tlie extra session of the Legislature, refers to this sub- 
ject as follows : " Subordinate officers on the Rio Grande, 
claimins: to act under instructions from officers hii>:her in 
rank in the Confederate States' service, have interfered with 
cotton transported under the authority of the State, and 
have delayed and prevented its exportation. I am informed 
by Colonel E. B. IN'ichols, agent of the State, that they have 
prevented cotton, belonging to the Military Board, from 
being exported They have thus interposed themselves 
between the State and the execution of her laws, the provid- 
ing of means for her defense and to clothe her people." 

Not only were cotton and teams impressed for the use of 
the army, but officers were sent to the leading planters in 
the best portions of the State, to measure their corn-cribs. 
A census was then taken of the number of whites and 
slaves, and mules and horses on the plantation. A liberal 
amount was left to supply the persons and animals, and the 
overplus was taken for the army. 

Governor Murrah had other grounds of complaint against 
the military authorities. At the regular session of the 
Legislature in 1863-64, a law had been passed for organ- 
izing a reserve corps, under the authority of the State, of 
all under fifty years of age. Many of this class of men 
were already in the field when a new conscript act was 
passed, including those between forty-five and fifty years. 
The law authorized them to organize into companies, &c., 
before being formally transferred to the Confederate ser- 
vice. The Governor, after consulting General Magruder, 
fixed a day for these troops to organize ; but after the law 
of the Confederate Congress reached the Trans-Mississippi 
Department, Magruder proceeded to act independently of 
the State authority. We again quote from the Governor's 
inessao;e : 



406 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

''Major General Magruder, so soon as the recent Act of Conscriptiou^ 
passed by Congress, was published in the Trans-Mississippi Department, 
declined receiving the State troops, as State troops, in any form of organi- 
zation, although tendered to him, and expressed his deterniination to rely 
alone upon the law of Congress for troops. This law was published in, 
riouston, according to my recollection, about the 20th of March, and the 
troops in the four districts already named were then assembling in their 
brigade encampments, to be organized as the law of the State rccpiired, and 
in conibrmit}^ with General Orders No. 13, issued by himself, with my con- 
sent, after they had been continued in service, as State troops, by my orders 
already referred to. The position assumed by Gen. Magruder virtually in- 
volved the assumption that the law of Congress annulled the laws the Leg- 
islature enacted, and that the Confederate military officers were thereby 
authorized to break up a military organization, formed under the authority 
of the State as a reserve auxiliary corps,^ embracing men never before em- 
braced by any legislation of the Confederate Government, and designed to 
perform nearly the same service, and to accomplish the same ends, as those 
proposed by the law of Congress. Of couivse, I need not state that my 
opinions did not at all accord with his, on this subject, and that I so I'epre- 
sented to him. I preferred that the State organization should be completed 
and that the troops should go to the field as State troops, at least until the 
Legislature should meet and dispose of the embarrassing question, by 
transferring them regularly to the Confederate service, in a body; or to be 
organized in conformity with, and for the purposes indicated by the Con- 
script Act, and by adjusting the legislation of the State to that of Congress, 
if that body should deem it proper so to do. I insisted upon this, as the 
only proper and legitimate course to be pursued- -but Gen. Magruder did 
not accede to my views." 

The Grovernor ventured still further ; and severely criti- 
cised some of the provisions of the new Conscript Law : 

"The recent Act of Conscription, passed by Congress, exempts from mil- 
itary service 'the Vice-President of the Confederate States, the members 
and officers of Congress, of the several Legislatures, and such other Confed- 
erate and State officers as the President or the Executives of the I'espective 
States may certify to be necessary, for the proper administration of the 
Conlederate and State Governments, as the case may be.' Has Congress 
tlic ))o\ver to invest by law, the President of the Confederate States with 
authority to strip the general government of these States of tlie officers jjro- 
vided for their administration by the Constitution and laws? Has the 
Confederate Government the power to vest the Executive of a sovereign 
State, or anj'' other officer, with authority to displace the officers pi'o 
vided for its administration i)y the Constitution and Laws of that State? 

"I will not argue these questions, and thereby leave the imi)lication of 
doubt on my mind as to them. There can be but one answer given to them 
— that answer must be in the negative. 



THE CIVIL WAR NEAELY ENDED. 4U7 

"The Constitution and laws of Texas have not only provided, but have 
determined, the officers necessary to the administration of the Government 
— and they are, in their respective offices, discharging the duties imposed 
upon them by the authority referred to. 

''It is the duty of the Executive of the State to respect and execute its 
laws, and to see that its Constitution is not violated. These obligations 
are imposed on him by a solemn oath. He is nowhere empowered to veto 
or nullify laws already in force, nor to set aside provisions of the Constitu- 
tion " 

The civil war was rapidly approaching the end. G-eneral 
Lee surrendered the main army at Spottsylvania Court 
House on the 9th of April, 1865 ; Johnston surrendered 
the army under his command, April 26th ; and Greneral 
Taylor, May 6th. The last battle of the war was fought in 
Western Texas, at the old Palo Alto battle-ground, on the 
13th of May. 

May 25th O-overnor Murrah issued three proclamations : 
one commanaing civil officers to preserve public property; 
another convening an extra session of the Legislature ; and 
a third ordering an election for delegates to a convention. 
The last two were set aside by the Federal Commander. 
Without formal orders, the soldiers disbanded by common 
consent, and returned to their homes, taking such public 
property as they could carry with them. As might have 
been expected, a scene of confusion and disorder ensued, in 
which, in some instances, private j)roperty was taken by 
irresponsible parties. 

On the 30th of May, Generals Smith and Magruder 
went on board a Federal vessel, in the harbor at Galveston, 
and formally surrendered the Trans-Mississippi Depart- 
ment. General Granger, of the United States army, landed 
on the 19th of June, and assumed command. He an- 
nounced the emancipation of the slaves, and the susj^ension 
of all legislative enactments inconsistent with the laws of 
the United States,* 



*Exccutive officers: R. J. Town<, Secretary of State; C. R. Johns, Conip- 
truller; C. M. liaiulolph, Treasurer; Stephen Crosby, Land Commissioner; 
D. B. Culbertson, Adjutant-General ; William Stedmah, Attorney-General. 



408 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Judicial OflScers: R. T. Wheeler, Chief Justice; George F. Moore and 
James H. Bell, Associates. There were twenty judicial districts in the 
State, and two Confederate District Courts, presided over by Wm. Pinckuey 
Hill, and Thomas J. Devine. 

Confederate Officers: John H. Reagan was Postmaster-General. The 
Convention in 186 1, sent the following delegates to the Convention at 
Montgomery, Alabama: John H. Reagan, Lewis T. Wigfall, John Hernj)- 
hill, William S. Oldham, John Gregg, and William B. Ochiltree. Lewis T. 
Wigfall and William S. Oldham represented Texas in the Senate: and 
during the Confederacy, the following gentlemen I'epresented Texas in the 
House: John A. Wilcox, C, C. Herbert, Peter W. Gray, B. F. Sexton, M. 
D. Graham, William B. Wright, A. M. Branch, John R. Baylor, S. H. 
Morgan, Stei)hen H. Darden, and A. P. Wiley. 

Mr. Murrah was a native of South Carolina. Educated in the political 
school of Mr. Calhoun, he believed in State Rights and State Sovereignty. 
With his positive convictions and determined will, he could not adjust him- 
self to the actual situation when he became Governor of the State. Military 
"orders'' set aside State laws and denuded the Executive Office of its 
authority. AVe believe that under more favorable auspices Pendleton Mur- 
rah would have made a good Governor. As it was, his administration was 
unsatisfactory to himself, offensive to the military commanders, and of little 
benefit to the State. His fate excites our commisseration. AVhen the 
armies surrendered, he left the State and his country. Sincerely attached 
to a cause now "lost," he lost hope and soon afterward died in Mexico. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FIRST KECOX8TRTJCTI0N— HAMILTON'S ADMINISTRATION— REGISTRATION OP LOYAL 
VOTEKS— KLECTION — CONVENTION — HAMILTON'S MESSAGE— THROCKMORTON'S AD- 
MINISTRATION—GOVERNMENTS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES DECLARED PROVISIONAL, 
ONLY— SHERIDAN'S ORDER ON ASSUMING COMMAND — NEW REGISTRATION— IRON 
CLAD OATH — THROCKMORTON REMOVED — SECOND RECONSTRUCTION — PEASE'S AD- ' 
MINISTRATION— HANCOCK IN COMMAND — SECOND RECONSTRUCTION CONVENTION— 
AB INITIO CONTROVERSY— SUFFRAGE BILL — PROTEST OF THE AB INITIOS— «CONVEN. 
TION DISSOLVES— ELECTION. 

ON the 29th of May, 1865, President Johnson issued his 
Amnesty Proclamation, and on the 17th of June ap- 
pointed Andrew J. Hamilton, Provisional Governor of 
Texas. Mr. Hamilton arrived in Galveston July 21st, and 
on the 25th issued a proclamation, announcing his appoint- 
ment, and assuming the duties of his office. This was a 
period of transition in which the laws of Congress and the 
instructions of President Johnson shaped the course both 
of the officers and people of the State, In due time Gov- 
ernor Hamilton appointed boards of registration in each 
county, authorized to administer the amnesty oath and 
register such as were, under the reconstruction acts, allowed 
to vote, — those " loyal to the United States, and none 
others." By proclamation of the Governor, an election was 
held January 8th, 1866, for delegates to a Convention to 
form a new Constitution. Very little interest was mani- 
fested in the election. In his message to the Convention, 
Governor Hamilt{m said : " I would be wanting in candor 
if I did not declare that the apathy manifested by the 
people, in the recent election, fills me with deep concern. 
From the returns made to the Department of State, and 
the reports that have reached me from various portions of 
the State, there is reason to believe that less than half the 
voters participated in the election." 



410 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The Convention met on the 10th of February, and organ- 
ized by electing J. W. Throckmorton, President, and W.L. 
•Chahners, Secretary. The Governor, in his message, ex- 
pressed his views freely on the relation of freedmen to the 
political institutions of the country. We give some sen- 
tences : " I believe it would be unwise to exclude the freed- 
men in our midst from the exercise of political privileges, 
by making the enjoyment of these privileges to depend 
upon the accident of birth or color. I wish to be perfectly 
** frank in the statement of my views, but I do not wish to be 
misunderstood. I do not believe that the great mass of 
freedmen in our midst are qualified by their intelligence to 
exercise the right of suffrage, and I do not desire to see 
this privilege conferred upon them. But I think that pro- 
gress is the great law of mind, under every free government, 
and I do not believe that any policy can be enduring or 
permanent in this country, which is based upon accidental 
circumstances, and ''the traditions of prejudice, instead of 
being founded upon the eternal princij)les of truth and 
justice." * * * "I believe it would be wise 
to regulate the .qualifications of those wdio are to become 
voters hereafter, by rules of universal application." The 
Governor adds : " Justice requires that the National Gov- 
ernment shall see to it, that this now despised and degraded 
race shall be protected in the beneficial enjoyment of the 
great boon which has been accorded to them. Any system 
of laws, therefore, intended to deprive them of the actual 
fruits of liberty, w^ill meet with resistance from the Con- 
gress of the United States." 

The Convention completed its work and adjourned xlpril 
2d. The general election w^as held on the 4th of June. 
The Constitution was adopted ; J. W. Throckmorton was 
•elected Governor, and G. Wash. Jones, Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor-* 

* Executive Officers under Hamilton : James H. Bell, Secretary of State ; 
\ViIliam Alexander, Attoriioy-Gcnerp.l; A. H. Latimer, Comptroller; S. 
Harrii, Treasurer; il. M. Elijiu and Joseph Spence, Land Commissioners. 



Throckmorton's administration. 411 

J. W. Throckmorton was inaugurated Grovernor, August 
13th, 1866. The Legislature then in session adopted all 
necessary measures for the complete restoration of civil 
law. It was the misfortune of Governor Throckmorton 
that the whole plan of reconstruction, as carried forward by 
President Johnson, was unacceptable to Congress, and it 
soon became manifest that he would meet with serious 
embarrassments in administering the State Government. 
Though an original Unionist, having voted in the Conven- 
tion of 1861 against secession, he was elected Governor by 
the Democrats in opposition to Mr. Pease, the Republican 
candidate. 

Early in February, a bill was introduced into Congress 
for the more efficient government of the insurrectionary 
States. We copy the preamble : 

''Whereas, The pretended State Govevnmeuts of the late so-called Con- 
federate States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Arkansas, were set up 
without the authority of Congress, and therefore are of no constitutional 
validity; and whereas, They are in the hands and under the control of the 
unrepentant leaders of the rebellion, and afford no adequate protection for 
life or property, but countenance and encourage lawlessness and crime ; 
and whereas. It is necessary that peace and good oi-der should be enforced 
in the said so-called States, until loyal and republican State governments 
can be legally formed ; therefore," &c., &c. 

During the discussion of the bill, Mr. Pearce offered the 
following on the subject of universal manhood suffrage, 
which was adopted by a vote of 60 to 40 : 

" Be it enacted, that the 14th article of the Constitution amendment being 
ratified by the Legislatures of the requisite numbw of States, the same is 



At the election there were 48,519 votes for the Constitution, and 7,719 
against it. For Governor, Throckmorton received 48,631 votes, and E. M. 
Pease, 12,051. For Lieutenant-Governor, Jones, 48,392; L. Lindsay, 
8,714. 

During Hamilton's administration, a tax of twelve and a half cents on the 
$100 was collected. The receipts into the Treasury amounted to $344,440; 
and the expenditures to $233,203; leaving a handsome balance in the 
Treasury. 



412 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

hereby declared ratified and a part of the Constitution. Wlion any State, 
lately rebellious, ratifies the same and modifies its Constitution and laws in 
accordance tlierewith, and wliich sliall secure equal impartial suffrage ro 
all male citizens of the United States over twenty-one years of age, one 
year in State and three months preceding election in precinct, without re- 
gard to race or color, or previous condition of servitude, except as disfran- 
chised by participation in the late rebellion, in elections lor President, 
Members of Congress, Governor, State, county, district, city, parish and 
town elections, and shall constitutionally jji-ovide that all persons shall 
equally possess the right to pursue all lawful vocations, receive equal bene- 
fits of the public schools, equal protection and all rights of citizens in said 
State, and when said Constitution is submitted to the people of said State 
for ratification or rejection, and when the Constitution shall be ratified and 
submitted to Congress for examination and approval, shall be declared en- 
titled to representation, and representatives and senators therefrom shall be 
admitted on taking the oath prescribed by law." 

Shellabarger offered an amendment declaring that until 
the rebellious States are admitted to representation, any 
civil govertment should be deemed provisional, subject to 
the authority of the United States, to be abolished, modi- 
fied or superseded at any time, and all elections under the 
civil government to be conducted by persons described in 
the fifth section, and no person should be qualified to hold 
office under the provisional government who was ineligible 
under the j^rovisions of the third section of the constitu- 
tional amendment of last session. Adopted — yeas, 98, 

nays, 70. 

This bill was vetoed by President Johnson, and passed 
over the veto ; in the House by a vote of 135 to 47, and in 
the Senate by 28 to 10. Louisiana and Texas constituted 
the Fifth Military District. Under this bill, G-eneral Sher- 
idan issued the following Order Number One, dated New 
Orleans, March 19th, 1867 : 

'* 1. The act of Congress entitled " An act to provide for the more efii- 
cient government of the rebel States," having been officially transmitted to 
the undersigned in an order from the Headquarters of the Army, which, 
assigns him to the command of the Fifth Military District created by that 
act, consisting of the States of Louisiana and Texas, he hereby assumes 
command of the same 

" 2. According to the provisions of the Gth section of the act of Congress 
above cited, the present State and Municipal Governments in the States of 



OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS. 415 

Louisiana and Texas are hereby declared to be provisional only, and subject 
to be abolished, moditied, controlled or superseded. 

'•3. No general removals from office will be made, unless the present 
incumbents fail to carry out the provisions of the law, or impede the reor- 
ganization, or, unless a delay in reorganizing should necessitate a change. 
Pending the reorganization, it is desirable and intended to create as little 
disturbance in the machinery of the various branches of the Provisional 
Governments as possible, consistent with the law of Congress and its suc- 
cessful execution, but this condition is dependent upon the disposition 
shown by the people, and upon the length of time required for reorganiza- 
tion. 

" 4. The States of Louisiana and Texas will retain their present military- 
designations, viz : * District of Louisiana,' and ' District of Texas.' The 
officers in command of each will continue to exercise all their powers and 
duties as heretofore, and will in addition carry out all the provisions of the 
law within their respective commands, except those which specifically re- 
quire the action ofthe Military District Commander, and except in cases of 
removals from, and appointments to office." 

Under this law a new registration of voters, including 
the newly enfranchised freedmen, became necessary. April 
4th, General Griffin, in command at Galveston, addressed 
the following letter to Governor Throckmorton : 

" Sir : — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- 
tions of the 28th and 29th ultimo, and shall deem it a privilege to avail 
myself of your offer of assistance in registering the qualified voters of the 
State. 

" I am exceedingly anxious not to go out of the State for registers; and 
am desirous of obtaining the names of all persons, irrespective of color, 
that ai'e qualified to act in this capacity — men that can take the oath of 
office as prescribed by act of Congi'ess of July 2d, 1862, a copy of which is 
herewith enclosed. 

" If possible, please favor me with the probable black and white vote of 
each county. 

" I am very desirous to have the laws impartially executed, and no effort 
shall be spared, on mv part, to bring out the full number of legal voters in 
this State. 

" If the citizen* accept the situation, come forward, and yield a cheerful 
obedience, there can be no trouble." 

After receiving this communication, the Governor imme- 
diately sent circulars to the Chief Justices of the various 
counties, of which the following is a copy : 



■ 24 



416 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sir : — In order to facilitate tiie labors of the military authorities in pro- 
viding for the registration of the legal voters under the recent acts ot 
Congress, known as the Military Bill and Supplement thereto, it is necessa- 
ry that you furnisli to tliis department, without delay, a list of all persons in 
your county, " irrespective of color," who are competent and qualitied to 
act as Registers, and who can take the accompanying oath. * 

It is desired by Major-General Griffin, commanding, that each county, if 
possible, furnisli its own Registers. You will therefore spare no pains to 
furnish the list at the earliest moment. Send atouce, those who come Avith- 
in your personal knowledge; afterwards, such others as you nr.iy ascertain, 
noting particularly their business qualitications so far as practicable. The 
best men, that is, tho«e who are most competent, and who will act fairly and 
promptly, should be noted. 

You are further requested to give the number and name of each voting 
precinct in your county. 

The probable number of whites who are entitled to vote xinder the laws 
of the State. The per centage of those disqualified to vote can be better 
ascertained here. 

The probable number of colored entitled to vote under the acts of Con- 
gress. 

I can not too strongly urge upon you, and through you, upon the people 
of your county, the propriety and absolute necessity at this juncture in 
affaix's, of contributing, to the fullest extent, every aid possible, in order 
that the military authorities may be enabled to execute tne acts of Congress 
with promptness and fairness. 

On the 15th of April Greneral Griffin issued an order 
forbidding all civil elections in Texas ; and soon afterward 
another ordering negroes to be 2^1aced on juries. Fifteen 
registration districts were formed, corresponding to the 



* Iron Clad Oath. — I, , do solemnly swear that I have never 

voluntarily borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen 
thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or 
encouragement to persoys engaged in armed hostility thereto ; that I have 
neither sought nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise tlie functions of any 
office whatever, under any authority in hostility to tlie United Slates; 
that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended government, 
authority, power or constitution Avithin the United States, hostile or inim- 
ical thereto. And I do furtJier swear that to the best of my knowledge 
and ability, I will support and defend the Contitutiou of the United States, 
against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith aud 
allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any 
mental reservation or purpose of evasion ; and that I will well and faithfully 
discharge the duties of the office on which 1 am about to enter, So help 
me God. 



sheeidan's special order. 417 

fifteen judicial districts created by the Legislature of 1866. 
While the work of registration was in progress, and the 
State Government endeavoring to harmonize itself with 
the views of the military commanders,* on the 30th of July 
the following Special Order IN'umber 105 was issued by 
General Sheridan, in T^ew Orleans : 

" A careful consideration of the rei^orts of Brevet Majoi'-General C. 
Griffin, U. S. Army, shows tliat J. W. Throcl^raortou, Governor of Texas, 



* As a further evidence of the willingness of Governor Throckmorton in 
good faith to adjust himself and the State to the new Reconstruction acts of 
Congress, we add some extracts from a letter addressed to Dr. Ashbel Smith : 

" I feel an abiding confidence that the people of Texas will not falter, or 
prove indifTerent. Every citizen of the State, however exalted or humble 
his sphere, sliould feel that his country demands of him prudent and effi- 
cient service, and that his services may be more potent for good now than 
at any future period. Every one who is entitled should register and vote 
at the proper time, and those who are disfranchised should encourage 
others that are not. The best and wisest men, who are allowed to sit, should 
be selected for members of the Convention. No impediment should be 
thrown in the way of the newly-enfranchised class, but evei*y reasonable 
means and encouragement should be extended to them in order that they 
may enjoy without hindrance their new privileges. 

'' They are in no wise responsible for the present state of things, and should 
this extraordinarj'^ enlargement of the right of suffrage tend to the destruc- 
tion of republican institutions, or to the demoralization and ruin of the 
])]acks, they are not responsible. Hereafter they are to be, to the people of 
tlie South, an element of political power and strength, if wisely and 
properly treated. 

*' Therefore it is to be earnestly desired that all proper means should be 
used to direct thesc'people to an intelligent and wise use of the high priv- 
ilege conferred. 

" I am in correspondence with the military authorities upon the subject of 
inaugurating the details of rc^organization, and have tendered the co-opera- 
tion of the civil authorities of the State in the execution of the law. 

" I have invited attention to the necessity of having defined and promulga- 
ted the class of persons heretofore holding office who are excluded — that i'' 
to what extent the terms *' Executive and Judicial officers" goes, etc. I 
shall make use of every means to aid those who are charged with the execu- 
tion of the law, and at the same time endeavor to possess myself of informa- 
tion necessary to enable the people of the State to act intelligently. I have 
an assurance from Major (ienoral Griffin that lie will spare no pains to have 
a full and complete registry of all the legal voters in the State. 
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. W. TnuOCKMORTON." 



418 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

is an impediment to the reconstruction of that State, luider the law. Ho is 
therefore removed from that office. E. M. Pease is hereby appointed Gov- 
ernor of Texas in place of J. W. Throckmorton, removed. He will be 
obeyed and respected accordingly." * 

E. M. Pease became Governor, by military appointment,, 
July SOth, 1867. This was a period of bitter partizanship. 
Under the instructions, marked secret and sent by Greneral 
Griffin to the diiferent boards of registration, a very rigid 
rule was adopted, by which hundreds of men who believed 
themselves entitled to register were rejected. In the mean- 
time. General Sheridan had been removed from the com- 
mand of the Fifth military district, and General Hancock 
appointed in his place. The views of the latter differed 
radically from those of his predecessor. Hancock was 
opposed to the trial of civillians by the military, and 
declined to interfere, even at the request of Governor 
Pease.f 

*Executive Officers : John A. Green, Secretary of State ; "William M. 
Walton, Attorney-General ; W. L. Robards, Comptroller ; M. H. iloyston. 
Treasurer; Stephen Crosby, Land Commissioner; Davis Guerly, Adjutant- 
General. 

Justices of Supreme Court: George F. Moore, Chief Justice; R. Coke^ 
S. P. Donley, A. H. Willie, and George W. Smith, Associates. Judges- 
WatrDUs, and Duval, Judges of the United States District Court. 

David G. Burnet and Oran M. Roberts wei'e elected Senators; and Geo. 
W. Chilton, B. H. Epperson, A. M. Branch, and C. C. Herbert were elected 
to the United States House of Representatives, but were not admitted to- 
thcirs seats. 

f A murder had been committed in Uvalde county. Three men were in 
confinement for the crime. Judge Noonaii wrote a letter to Governor Pease 
in which he asked: " Would it not be well to try them by military commis- 
sion ? " This was transmitted to General Hancock, and answered by Colonel 
W. C. Mitchell, Secretary of Civil Afiairs, by order of the Commanding 
General. We copy a few paragraphs: 

" la his view it is of evil example, and full of danger to the cause of free- 
dom and good government, that the exercise of the military power, through 
militarj' tribunals created for the trial of offenders against the civil law, 
should ever be permitted, when the ordinary powers of the existing State 
Governments are ample for the punishment of offenders, if those charged 
with the administration of the laws are faithful in the discharge of their 
duties. 

" If the means at the disposal of the State authorities are inefficient to 



SECRET IXSTRUCTIONS. 419 

When G-eneral Hancock was furnished with the " secret " 
instructions given by General Grriffin to the registrars, he 
became satisfied that many entitled to registration had been 
refused ; and on the 11th of January, 1868, he issued a 
counter "order;" from which we make an extract: 

" In consequence of this , and as the time for the revision of the registra- 
tion in the State of Texas is now at hand, and the duty of making tlie 
revision will, it is probable, in a great degree, be performed by persons who 
are members of the Boards of Registration, to which the " memoranda" in 
question were distributed for their guidance, the Major General command- 
ing deems it of importance that the members of the Board of Registration, 
and the people at large, should be informed that the ''memoranda" before 
referred to, distributed from the headquarters of this military district, are 
null and of no effect, and are not now to be regarded by the Boards of 
Registration in making theirdccisions ; and that the members of the Boards 
are to look to the laws, and to the laws alone, for the rules which are to 
govern them in the discharge of the delicate and important duties imposed 
uix)n them. 

'• For this purpose they will be furnished with copies of the Acts of Con- 
gress relating 'to this subject, and of the amendment (known as Article 
XIV.) to the Constitution of the United States, 

" In case of questions arising as to the right of any individual to be regis- 
tered, the person deeming himself aggrieved is entitled to his appeal from 



secure the confinement of the persons named in the communication of the 
Governor of the State of Te"xas to the General commanding tliere, until 
they can be legally tried, on the fact being made known to him, the com- 
mander of the district will supply the means to retain them in confinement; 
and the commanding officer of the troops in Texas is so authorized to act. 
If there are any reasons in existence which justify an apprehension that 
the prisoners cannot be lairly tried in that county, let the proper civil officers 
have the venue changed for the trial, as provided for by the laws of Texas. 

" In the opinion of the Commander of the Fifth Military District, the 
exi-iting Government of the State of Texas iiossesses all the powers neces- 
sary for the proper and prompt trial of the prisoners in question, in due 
course of law. 

" If these powers are not exercised for that purpose, the failure to exer- 
cise tliem can be attributed only to the indolence or culpable inefiicicucy of 
the officers now charged with the execution and enforcement of the laws 
under the authority of the State Government; and if there is such a failure, 
in the instance mentioned, on the part of those officers, to execute the laws, 
it will then become the duty of the Commander to remove the officers who 
fail to discharge the duties imposed on them, and to replace them with 
others who will discharere them." 



420 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the decision of the Board, and the Boards are directed to make a full' 
statement of the facts in sncli cases, and to forward the same to these head- 
quarters without unnecessary delay. 

" By command of Major General Hancock. 

" George L. Hartsuff, Assistant Adjutant General.^'' 

The want of harmony between Congress and the Presi-^ 
dent exhibited itself in frequent changes of commanders in 
the South. General Sheridan represented the Congres> 
sional element, and was appointed by Mr. Stanton, Secretary 
of War. Greneral Hancock, on the contrary, represented 
the views of President Johnson. Soon after the publication 
of Hancock's letter to Grovernor Pease, and the "order" 
repudiating the instructions of General Griffin, he was 
removed, and General J.J. Reynolds appointed to the Fifth 
Military District, which was soon restricted to Texas, Louis- 
iana having been reconstructed, and her Representatives 
admitted to their seats in Congress. Austin. became the 
headquarters of the District. 

Under the new regulations, every one who expected to 
vote was required to register, and present his certificate of 
registration at the polls. There were registered 56,(378 
white, and 47,581 colored voters. It is supposed that 
25,000 whites were not registered, either through indiffer- 
ence, or because they were disfranchised. In order to 
secure a large vote, the law required that a majority of the 
registered voters should vote at the election ; but did not 
require that a majority of the whole should favor the calling 
of a Convention. But one place of voting was designated 
in each county ; and that at the county seat. The election 
occupied four days — February 10th-14th. Forty-four thou- 
sand, six hundred and eighty-nine votes were cast for the 
Convention, and 11,440 against it. 

The Convention met in Austin, June 1st, 1866, and 
organized by electing Edmund J. Davis, President, and W. 
V. Tunstall, Secretary. When officially informed of the 
organization. Governor Pease sent a communication, from 
which the following paragraj^hs are extracted • 



SENTIMENTS WIDELY DIFFER 421 

<* It is not my iirovinco to make recommendations for your action; but I 
trust that it will not be considered improper for me to suggest that, in the 
Constitution you are about to form, it is expected— 

" That you will declare that the pretended act of secession, and all laws 
that hnve been enacted in aid of the late rebellion, or repugnant to the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, are and were null and void 
from their inception ; and that you will at once repeal all laws that make 
any discrimination against persons on account of their color, race or previous 
condition; 

" That you will provide for ascertaining and paying all debts that were 
owing by the State at the commencement of the rebellion, and prohibit the 
payment of any debts incurred in aid of the rebellion, or for the support of 
the rebel government during its progress ; 

" That you will secure equal civil and political rights to every inhabitant 
of the State, who has not forfeited these rights by participation in the late 
rebellion, or by conviction for crime; 

" That you will temporarily disfranchise a number of those who partici- 
pated in the rebellion, sufficient to place the political power of the State in 
the hands of those who are loyal to the United States Government; 

" That you will make a liberal provision, by taxation upon property, for 
the immediate establishment of Free Public Schools for the education of 
every child iu the State ; 

" That you will secure to every citizen of the State who has not heretofore 
received it, a reasonable amount of laud out of the public domain for a 
homestead ; 

"That you will adopt efficient measures to enconirage immigration to our 
State from foreign countries, and to give aid and encouragement to such 
works of internal improvement as the necessities of our people require. 

" All these measures are called for by the public sentiment of our loyal 
citizens, and are necessary, I think, to secure the future happiness and 
prosperity of all." 

As the Convention progressed with its work it soon be- 
came manifest that its members, though acknowledged loyal 
Republicans, held sentiments widely differing from each 
other, on the questions deemed vital. In the summer of 
1867, a few weeks before General Griffin died (with yellow 
fever) a petition was drawn up by Mr. William Alexander, 
and signed by a number of other gentlemen, requesting the 
General to " declare by military order, all pretended legis- 
lation done in Texas, dating from and after February 1st, 
18G1 (the date of the so-called ordinance of secession), to 
be, what the law holds it to be, — null and void from the 
beginning," t. e., ab initio. Because Governor Pease, in a 



422 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

proclamation, recognized the Constitution and laws of 1866, 
(subject to certain exceptions), as " rules for the government 
of the peoj^le of Texas, and the officers of the civil govern- 
ment, " ]\Ir. Alexander resigned the office of Attorney Gen- 
eral, to which he had been a2")pointed. Those members of 
the Convention who, with Mr. Alexander, believed that all 
laws and legislative enactments since the passage of the 
ordinance of secession were null and void, were called Ad 
hiitios. 

On the 20th of August, the Convention passed a bill 
appropriating $25,000 additional to defray its expenses. It 
was sent to General Reynolds for his approval. To this, 
the General replied on the 24th, as follows : 

'■'■Hon. E. J. Davis, President Constitutional Convention: 

"SiK. — [ have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a resolution of the 
Convention, passed on the 29th instant, asking my approval of an additional 
appropriation of tweuty-fivo thousand dollars to defray expenses. 

'' The Convention has been in session about eighty-five days, and has ex- 
pended an appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars. 

"Tlie present state of the treasury, the rate at which money is coming in, 
and the prospective current wants of the State, forbid the appropriation of 
any more money from the treasury for the expenses of the Constitutional 
Convention. 

" The resolution is respectfully returned without approval." 

Comparatively little progress had been made towards 
forming a Constitution, but as no more money could be 
drawn from the treasury to defray expenses, the Conven- 
tion adjourned on the 31st of August, to meet again on the 
7th of December. 

On reassembling in December, the contests between the 
two wings of the Republican party in the body became more 
marked and irreconcilable. On the question of suffrage, 
one party wished to disfranchise a large number who had 
been instrumental in passing the ordinance of secession 
and sustaining the Confederate cause, while the more liberal 
wished all the bo)ia fide citizens of the State enfranchised. 
That party tinally prevailed. Instead of the disfranchising 




PLACIDO, CHIEF OF THE TONKA WAS. 



Hamilton's substitute adopted. 425 

report of the committee, a liberal substitute, offered by ex- 
Governor Hamilton, was adopted. * 



* We copy the section and the vote on the substitute : 

" Section 1. Every male citizen of the United States of the age o^ 
twenty-one years and upward, not laboring under tlie disabilities named in 
this Constitution, without distinction of race, color, or former condition, 
who shall be a resident of this State at the time of the adoption of this Consti- 
tution, or who shall theretofore reside in this State one year, and in the coun- 
ty in which he offers to vote sixty days next preceding any election, shall 
be entitled to vote fur all officers that are now or that hereafter may be 
elected by the people, and upon all questions submitted to the electors on 
any election; 

"= Pnmded, that no person shall be allowed to vote or hold office who is 
now or hereafter may be disqualified therefrom by the Constitution of the 
Dnited States, until such disqualification sliall be removed by the Congress 
of the United States. • 

" Provided further, that no person, while Ivept in any asylnm, or confined 
In prison, or, who has been convicted of felony, or who is of unsound mind, 
shall be allowed to vote or hold office." 

Yeas — Messrs. Armstrong of Lamar. Armstrong of Jasper, Bell, Bel- 
linger, Bryant of Grayson, Buffington, Burnett, Carter, Cole, Curtis, Evans 
of Titus, Fleming, Gaston, Glenn, Gray, Hamilton of Travis, Harris, Ihirn, 
Kealy, Keigwin, Kirk, Lcib, McCormick, McWashington, Morse, Muiuiine, 
Pliillips of San Augustine, Posey, Rogers, Scott, Schutze, Sori-elle, Stock- 
britlge, Watrous, Williams, Wilson of Brazoria, Wright — 37. 

Nays — Messrs. President, Board, Butler, Degener, Downing, Faylo, Flan- 
igan, Hamilton of Bastrop, Hunt, Johnson, Jordan, Keuchler, Lippard, 
Long, Mackey, Mills, Mullens, Newconib, Patton, Phillips of Wharton, 
Ruby, Slaughter, Smith, Thomas, Varnell, Wilson of Milam — 26. 

This bill passed on the 3d of February. On the 4th, the ab initio mem- 
bers of the Convention entered the following protest. It was signed by 
twenty-two members; some objecting to some of the statements. Mr. 
Davis, above his signature, writes: " I join in the above protest, except 
only that part which charges deception and intimidation on the part of the 
members." 

^'ITon.'E. J. Davis, President of the Convention: 

" Sik: — We, the undersigned, delegates to the Constitutional Convention 
of the State of Texas, do hereby express disapproval of the proposed Cun- 
stitntion adopted by a majority of this Convention. 

" We object to it, because it is based upon the unwarranted assumption 
that the Constitution of tlie United States, with the treaties and laws made 
in pursuance thereof, and the accepted Constitution of the State of Texas 
(of 1845), have not been continuously tiie supreme law of the land. Be- 
lieving as we do, that all pretended laws and judicial decisions made within 
the National limits, and not autliorized bv and subordinate to the Govern- 



426 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The Constitution was now nearly completed, and many of 
the members left for home. At the hour of meeting Febru- 
ary 6th, no quorum was present. General Canby had been 
in Texas since December 20th. President Davis read to- 
the members present a letter from Gen. Canby, directing 
the records of the Convention to be turned over to the cus- 
tody of the assistant Adjutant-General of the district. 
Whereupon Mr. Davis directed the Secretary to turn over 
the Constitution adopted by this Convention, and all 
ordinances, declarations and resolutions ado^^ted by the 
same, and books and records, to the Adjutant-General, as 
fast as the same could be arranged, written out and enrolled ; 
after which he declared the Eeconstruction Convention 
adjourned 

The Convention had ordered a general election in July, 
but President Grant had it deferred until the 30th of 
November and three following days. 

On the 30th of September, Governor Pease tendered his 
resignation of the executive office, and for three months an 



ment of tlie United States, were from the beginning and must remain null 
and void, and the undersigned will never compromise the principle for any 
supposed ])olicy. 

" We do most earnestly and solemnly protest against that provision in the 
proposed constitution which extends the right of suffrage to all those who 
voluntarily became the public enemy of the United States, feeling assured 
that it was the aim of Congress to enable the loyal people of the State of 
Texas, without regard to any distinction of race or color, to reorganize and 
maintain a government in the place of that overthrown by the rebellion, 
and we cannot forbear to express the conviction that the adoption by the 
majority of the Convention of the provision in regard to suffrage was ob- 
tained by virtue of a premeditated and deliberate deception, and by meth- 
ods of intimidation, which deserve the greatest censure. The majority of 
the Convention have deliberately removed from the Constitution every safe- 
guard for the protection of the loyal voter, white and bhick. They have 
stricko' from that instrument the whole system of registry ; they have re- 
pudiated the oath of loyalty contained in the reconstruction laws; they have 
spurned the test of equal civil and political rights, and we do most solemn- 
ly call upon the registered voters of Texas to vindicate the National hoiior^ 
and the cause of right and justice, by their votes." 



RESIGNATION OF PEASE. 427 

Adjutant in charge of civil affairs administered the execu- 
tive department of the State of Texas. * 



* Executive oflBcers during Pease's Administration: W. C.Phillips, Secre- 
tary of State; Wm. Alexander and E. B. Turner, Attorneys General; INi. 
C. Hamilton, Comptroller; John T. Allen, Treasurer; Joseph Spence, Lantl 
Commissioner; A. Morrill, Chief Justice; C. Colwell, A. J. Hamiltou, A. 
H. Latimer, and L. Lindsay, Associates. Mr. Latimer having resigned, 
M. B, Walker was appointed in his place. 

Pease had served two terms as Governor of Texas, in a period of unex- 
ampled peace and prosperity; and he felt the humiliation of being tram- 
melled and controlled by mihtary commanders. In his message to the 
Convention he said- "The powers vested in the officers of the Provis- 
ional Government are exercised in subordination to the Commander of the 
Fifth Military District; and without his cooperation and assistance, all 
their efforts to execute the laws and preserve the public peace can avail but 
little. I regret to say that, iu some instances, this co-operation and assistance 
have been withheld, and the acts of the provisional officers have been mis- 
represented and their recommendations disregarded, A knowledge of 
these facts has so emboldened and encouraged those who are disposed to 
dlsrcyaid the laws that, in many instances, sheriffs have reported to this 
office that they were unable to obtain the aid of citizens to make arrests, 
because they feared personal violence from the pai'ties and their friends." 

The situation of Pease was very much like that of Murrah, the last Gov- 
ernor under Confederate rule. Murrah was under, first, Magruder and 
then Walker. Pease was under Sheridan, Griffin, Hancock, Reynolds and 
Canby. This species of civic-military rule was not satisfactory. In Mur- 
rah's message to the Legislatnro, he said: " Imperative duty requires of me 
to call your attention- to the fearful demoralization and crimes prevailing 
throughout the State. In some sections society is almost disorganized — the 
voice of the law is hushed and its authority seldom asserted. It is a dead 
letter — an unhonored thing upon the unread pages of the statutes. Murder, 
robbery, theft, outrages of every kind against property — against human 
life — against everything sacred to a civilized people — are frequent and 
general. Whole communities are under a reign of terror, and they utter 
their dreadful apprehensions, and their agonizing cries of distress iu vain. 
The rule of the mob — the bandit — of unbridled passions — rides over the 
solemn ordinances of the government. Foul crime is committed, and the 
criminal, steeped in guilt and branded by his own dark deeds with eternal 
infamy goes unwliipped of jnstice. Not even a warrant is issued for him — 
no effort is made by the sworn officers of the law, or by the community, to 
bring him to punishment. Too often the deed is excused — the community 
is divided in opinion as to the guilt, and the criminal is screened from 
justice — unless his offending chances to touch some peculiar influence, or 
prevailing notions — and then, without the forms of law, he is hung by a 
mob." 



428 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Under the direction of General Reynolds, who had been 
re-appointed to the command of the Fifth Military District, 
the general election was held TsTovember 30th-December 
3d, 1869.* 



In Pease's message to the Convention, he complains as follows : '' It is not 
the part of wisdom to disguise from ourselves the true situation of affairs. 
Crime was never as prevalent in Texas as it is at this time. Since the first 
of December last, authentic information has been received at this office of 
two hundred and six (206) homicides, committed in only sixty-seven (67) 
of the one hundred and twenty-seven organized counties of the Stale, while 
but a small number of the perpetrators have been arrested and punished by 
the process of the law. This state of things has become so alarming that 
the people, in several instances, have taken the law into their own hands, 
and have executed the murderers without a ti-ial — a proceeding which is 
always dangerous and greatly to be reprobated." 

* The vote for the constitution was 54,477 ; against it, 4,655. For Gover- 
nor: E.J. Davis, 39,901; A. J. Hamilton, 39,U92; Hamilton Stuart, 880. 
Fur Lieutenant-Governor; J. W. Flanagan, 35,401; Wells Thompson, 
19,583; Boulds Baker, 10,327; A. B. Latimer, 6,801. No elections were 
held in the counties of Milam and Navarro. The reason assigned by the 
Commander was that they were in such a disturbed condition that a peaceful 
election could not be held. Though General Davis had signed the "protest" 
exhorting the loyal voters to defeat the proposed Constitution, when he 
entered the canvass for Governor he advocated its adoption, so that but few 
votes were finally cast against it. Total registered voters in 1869, 135,553. 
Whites, 78,648; colored, 56,905. 

Soon after ascertaining the result of the election, the following special 
order appeared : 

lUxtract.} 

Austin, Texas, January 8, 1870. 
Special Orders — No. 6. 

I. The following appointments to civil office are hereby made, the persons 
iippointed having been elected to the positions designated: Edmund J. 
Davis, to be Governor; J. W. Flanagan, to be Lieutenant Governor; A. 
Bledsoe, to be Comptroller; G. W. Honey, to be Treasurer; Jacob Kuech- 
ler to be Commissioner of General Land Ofiice. 

The present incumbents will continue to discharge the duties of their 

respective offices until their successors appear in person and qualify. 

********** 

By Command of 

Brevet Ma.tor General Reynolds. 
H. Clay Wood, Assistant Adjutant General. ' 

On the 11th of January another order was published, convening the 
Legislature, February 5th, 1870. 



CHAPTER V. 

DAVIS' APMINISTRATTON— TEXAS BFXEGATES ADMITTED TO THEIR SEATS IN CONGRESS 
— MARTIAL LAW AGAIN — STATK POLICK— FRONTIER PKOTECI'ION— THREATENED COL- 
LISIOV AT CLOSE OF HIS ADMINISTRATION — HAPPILY AVERTED — COKE'S ADMIN- 
ISTRATION—COUNTRY PROSPEROUS— CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION— HUBBARD'S 
ADJIINISIRATION — LAWLESSNESS SUPPRESSED. 

MR. DAVIS assumed the office of Governor, January 
18th, 1870. The Legislature met, as called by the 
Commanding General ; ratified the new amendments to the 
Constitution of the United States ; elected United States 
Senators, and adjourned. 

March 30th, the President signed the bill accepting the 
Constitution of Texas,. and her Representatives and Sena- 
tors were admitted to their seats. On the 2d of April, 
Davis issued a proclamation announcing the restoration of 
Texas to her place in the Union. This he signed as Gov- 
ernor of Texas. Previous to this he had signed himself 
Provisional Governor. April 16th, General Reynolds, by 
special order, relinquished all control over the civil affairs 
of the State. The Legislature re-assembled April 26th ; 
and on the 28th, the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor 
were formally inaugurated. * 

The Legisatun\ which met April 26th, continued in 
session until the 15th of August. This was a called session. 
Among the more important acts may be mentioned the one 
for organizing the military forces of the State. These 



•Classed politically, the Lejjfislature, which had been elected at the Pame 
time -with the Governor, stood, in the Senate, 17 Republicans, (two of them 
colored), 7 Conservatives, and 6 Democrats. In the House, 50 Republicans^ 
(8 colored), 19 Conservatives, and 21 Democrats. 



4*30 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

were divided into two classes : the State Guard, composed 
of volunteer companies ; and the Reserve ^Military, which 
included all persons subject to military duty, not enrolled 
in volunteer comj)anies. Any one might avoid military 
duty by paying fifteen dollars per year. All the troops 
were under the control of the Governor. The most impor- 
tant provision- in the militia bill read as follows : " He shall 
also have power to declare martial law in any county or 
counties, and suspend the laws therein, whenever in his 
opinion the enforcement of the law of this State is ob- 
structed ; and he shall call out such part of the State Guard 
or Reserve Military as he may deem necessary. The ex- 
penses of maintaining such a force to be assessed upon the 
people of the county or counties where the laws are sus- 
pended, at the discretion of the Governor, whose duty it 
shall be to provide for the .trial and punishment of offenders 
by court martial and military commissions." 

Another bill authorized the Governor to organize a force 
•of twenty companies for the protection of the frontier, and 
to sell the bonds of the State for their support. Another 
■established a State police, in connection wuth the militia 
system, to be under the command of the Adjutant General, 
— to consist of about 260 officers and men. 

A bill was also passed, requiring voters to register, and 
•one laying down stringent rules for conducting elections. 
Thirty -five judicial districts were created, and the probate 
business transferred from the county to the district courts. 
Another bill created a system of free public schools through- 
out the State. An immense number of general and special 
laws were passed. We mention one more, — that which 
permitted those who had no homes, to locate upon the 
public d(miain. The law gave to each head of a family 160 
acres, and to each single person eighty acres, but the land 
must be occupied as a homestead. 

For nearly ten years Texas had been under a mixed 
government, partly civil, and partly nulitary — the military 



COLLISIONS BETWEEN THE FACTIONS. 431 

element predominating. It was hardly to be expected that 
the peoj^le would, at once, return to the pacific, law-abiding- 
condition of society at the breaking out of the war. Gov- 
ernor Davis had been a General in the Federal army — most 
of the peoj)le of Texas had been enlisted on the other side. 
The party spirit which had prevailed could not at once 
give place to mutual confidence. Time alone could modify 
the asperities engendered by the war. 

The Conservative and Democratic parties protested against 
some of the provisions of the militia bill, especially that 
which empowered the Governor to proclaim martial law ; 
and the one for the employment of State j^olice. Many of 
those enlisted in the State police were colored ; some of the 
officers were men objectionable on many grounds. Col- 
lisions occasionally occurred. '•' 

Among the more important acts of the Legislature which 
re-assembled in January, 1871, was one authorizing counties 



*A serious diflQ.culty occurred in Huntsville, early in January, 1871. A 
negro named Sam. Jenkins, an important witness in a ciiminal case, was 
killed. Certain parties implicated in the killing were arrested by a party 
of State police, in charge of Captain M'Annelly. After being arrested they 
were aided by friends to escape, and in the melee Captain M. was wonnded. 
After this. Governor Davis — January 20th — proclaimed martial law in 
Walker county, and a Provost Marshal was appointed, and a militarv com- 
pany from an adjoining county sunnnoned to enforce the law. A militarv 
commission was convened, and Nat. Outlaw, one of the pai-ties charged 
with the murder of the negro, was convicted and sent to the Penitentiary 
for five years. Some other parties were fined. On reviewing the testimony, 
the Governor released Outlaw, and restored the supremacy of civil law. 

Another difliculty took place at Groesbeck. On the last day of Septem- 
ber, 1871, D. C. Applewhite was kiLed in the streets, by Mitch, ('ollon 
and three colored policemen. Applewhite was charged with carrying con- 
cealed weapons. Attempts were made to arrest the men who did the kill- 
ing, when a serious disturbance arose, in which the whites were arrayed on 
one side and the colored ])eople on the other. On tiio 10th of October, 
Governor Davis proclaimed martial law in Limestone and Freestone coun- 
ties. This order was revokod November lltli ; but the people were assessed 
for a considerable sum to defray exp^^nses. In one other instance, (in Hill 
county), martial law was for a short time eufoi'ced. 



432 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and corporations, by popular vote, to grant subsidies to- 
railroads. * 

The Legislature met January 14th, 1873. Mr. Webster 
Flanagan, who had been elected President of the Senate at. 
the previous session, resigned, and his ^^lace was filled by 
Mr. E. B. Pickett, a Democrat The tone of the Govern- 
or's message was conciliatory, and all parties manifested a 
disposition to repeal obnoxious laws, reduce public expenses 
and leo"islate for the benefit of the State. The Militia bill 
was so modified as to take from the Grovernor the authority 
to declare martial law ; the State police was disbanded, and 
the election law and the school law materially changed. 
Precinct elections w^ere restored, and only one day set apart 
for elections, instead of four. 

At the election held in December, 1873, tjh.e Democra,ts 
elected all the State officers, the Congressmen from all the 
districts, and a majority of both branches of the Legislature. 

After the election, an ex parte case, brought before the 
Supreme Court on a writ of habeas corpus^ brought up the 
constitutionality of the election law. The Court decided the 
law unconstitutional, and Governor Davis issued a procla- 
mation, January 12th, (the day before that fixed for the 
meeting of the Legislature) prohibiting that body from 
assembling. The two Houses, notwithstanding the inhibi- 
tion, met in their respective chambers and organized. The 
Governor declined to receive any communication from them. 
On the night of the 13th, great apprehensions were enter- 
tained of a conflict between the two parties. The second 



* Under the Constitution the Governor continued in office four years. At 
the election in the fiill of 1872, the Democrats elected the six Congressmen 
to which the State was entitled, and a majority in both branches of the 
State Legislature. At this election a vote was taken to fix permanently the 
State capital. Austin received 63,297 out of the 111,362 votes cast. For 
President, Greeley received 66,455 votes, and Grant 47,226. In 1868, by a 
special act of Congress, Texas was prohibited from voting iu the Presiden- 
tial election. 




EDMUND J DAVIS. 



APPEAL TO GRANT. 435 

story of the Capitol building was in possession of the two 
Houses, guarded by a military company as a special police 
to assist the sergeant-at-arms, while the lower story was in 
possession of the executive officers, guarded by a company 
of colored soldiers, under the command of the Adjutant- 
General. President Grrant was appealed to, but declined to 
interfere. Under a protest, the Secretary of State permit- 
ted a Committee of the Legislature to take possession of the 
election returns. The vote was counted, and Messrs. Coke 
and Hubbard duly installed in their respective offices. * 

* Soon after the meeting of the Legislature, Mr. J. VV. Flanagan, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor, was elected to theTJnited States Senate ; Donald Campbell 
was elected President of the Senate. Mr. Campbell died in 1871, and 
Webster Flanagan was elected in his place. Mr. F. resigned in 1873, and 
E. B. Pickett was elected. J. P. Newcomb was Secretarj^ of State during 
Davis' administration; Wm. Alexander, Attorney-General; A. Bledsoe, 
Comptroller; G. W. Honey, Treasurer; J. Kuechler, Land Commissioner; 
James Davidson and Frank L. Britton, Adjutants General. 

Under the Constitution of 1869, Justices of the Supreme Court were 
nominated by the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate.. They held their 
office nine years, and the one going out first was ex offl^cio Chief Justice. 
Courts were held only at the State capital. L. D. Evans was Chief Justice 
and M. B. Walker and Wesley Ogden, Associates. In 1873, Justice Evans' 
time having expired, J. D. M'Ado was appointed in his place. 

An executive officer chosen by a very close vote, or by a minority of the 
electors, labors under a great disadvantage. There is a magic power in 
numbers ; and an officer who goes in by an overwhelming majority feels 
that he has good backing. The vole between Davis and Hamilton was very 
close. Indeed, General Hamilton thought that, had all the counties voted, 
and their votes been received, he would have been the successful caiulidate. 
Governor Davis had labored under another disadvantage. A considerable 
number of his own political party opposed some of the leading measures of 
his administration. He was thus without the moral support of two ex- 
Governors ; three or four ex-Justices of the Supreme Court, and other lead- 
ing and influential Republicans in all parts of the State. Notwithstanding 
this opposition, and the Indian depredations on the frontier, and the law- 
iess acts which disturbed society in various parts of the State, the period in 
which he was Governor was one of great prosperity. Tiie aggregate 
wealth of the State increased from $170,473,778, in 1870J to $223,410^920, in 
i873. Pepulation increased fifty or sixty per cent. At the commencement 
of 1871 there were in operation in the State 511 miles of railroad. At the 
closo of 1872 there 1,078 miles; showing an increase of more than one 
hundred per cent, in two years. 

2r:> 



436 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

It was late at night, January 13th, 1874, when Richard 
Coke and Richard B. Hubbard were inaugurated to their 
respective offices. There was still a feverish excitement in 
the public mind. Fears were entertained that Governor 
Davis might yet be sustained in his office by the interposi- 
tion of President Grant, or that some rash act might precip- 
itate a collision between the different bands of armed men 
in the city. Fortunately no blood was shed, and on the 
19th, though Governor Davis had not formally surrendered 
the executive office, he had vacated it, and Governor Coke 
took undisputed possession. Governor Coke had been 
elected by a majority of about 40,000. All the Congress- 
men and a majority of the members of the Legislature then 
in session belonged to the Democratic party ; and the 
Supreme Court was at once reorganized under an amend- 
ment to the Constitution, increasing the number of Judges 
to five. Harmony was thus introduced into all departments 
of the State Government. Governor Coke, in his message, 
took a very hopeful view of our State affairs, and the people 
generally indulged in glowing anticipations of future pros- 
perity. The opening of railroad communication with St. 
Louis, the abundant crops and inflowing tide of immigra- 
tion, stimulated enterprise and kept alive the hopes of our 
people. In the period of financial distress which has befal- 
len the country since that period, Texas has suffered less 
than any other State of the American Union. 

Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed with the Con- 

We copy one paragraph from the message of the Governor to the Legis- 
lature, in January, 1873: "When I commenced the performance of the 
duties of Governor, I proposed to myself these main purposes: On the 
one hand to restrain that tendency to extravagant squandering of public 
money, and running into debt, which has disgraced many of the govern- 
ments and legislatures of the (so-called) reconstructed States— a tendency, 
however, that was to be expected of that demoralization which the tremen- 
dous convulsion of the war caused to permeate, more or less, all parties and 
classes in those States. On tlie other hand, to restrain that lawlessness 
which ahvavs unfavor;ibl\- distiniruisliod our peoplo, but had become shock- 
ingly intensitied by the liabiis taught, oui- young men in military camps." 



HUBBARD BECOMES GOVERNOR. 437 

stitution formed under the auspices of General Reynolds ; 
and at the second session of the fourteenth Legislature, held 
in March, 1875, provision was made for calling a Constitu- 
tional Convention. The Convention met on the 6th of 
September, and organized by electing E. B. Pickett Pres- 
ident, and- Wm. Leigh Chalmers Secretary. Having 
completed its work, it adjourned on the 24th of November.^'' 

The fifteenth Legislature met on the 12th of April, 1876, 
and on the 2oth, Messrs. Coke and Hubbard were reinaufru- 
rated to their respective offices. On the 5th of May, Gov- 
ernor Coke was elected to the United States Senate ; but he 
continued to exercise the functions of Governor until the 1st 
of December. 

On the first of December, 1876, Richard B. Hubbard, the 
Lieutenant-Governor, became Governor by the resignation 
of Governor Coke.f 



* At the election, August 2d, 69,583 votes were cast foi* the Convention, 
and 30,549 against it. At the election, February 15th, 1876, 136,606 votes 
were cast for the Constitution, and 56,652 against it. The regular Demo- 
cratic State ticket was elected. For Governor, Richard Coke received 
150,418, and William Chambers 47,719 votes. 

Executive Officers : Wells Thompson, President of the Senate; A. W. 
Deberry, Secretary of State; H. H. Boone, Attorney-General; William 
Steele, Adjutant-General; Stephen H. Darden, Comptroller; A. J. Dora, 
Treasurer; J. J. Groos, Land Commissioner. 

Thomas H. Duval, Judge of the United States Court, Western District; 
and since 1872, Amos Morrill, of the Eastern District. 

By an amendment to the Constitution, in 1874, the Supreme Court was 
composed of one Chief Justice and four Associates: O. M. Roberts, Chief 
Justice; W. P. Ballinger, George F. Moore, Reuben A. Rives, and Thomas 
J. Deviiie, Associates. Vacancies having occurred, P. W. Gray and John 
Ireland were appointed A-^sociate Justices. 

A new organization took place under the Constitution of 1875: O. M. 
Roberts, Chief Justice; George F. Moore and Robert S. Gould, Associate 
Justices. By the Constitution, a Court of Appeals was created; and John 
P. AVhite, C. M. Winkler and M. D. Ector, appointed Judges. 

t A good many topics of interest, connected with the administrations of 
Coke and Hubbard, are treated under special heads — as railroads, penitcL 
tiary, public debt, &c., &c. 

Executive Officers: Wells Thompson, Lieutenant-Governor; Isham G. 



438 I HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Searcy, Secretary of State; A. J. Dorn, Treasurer; S. H. Darden, Comp- 
troller; J. J. Groos, and W. C. Walsh, Land Commissioners; Williain 
Steele, Adjutant-Greneral ; H. H. Boone, Attorney-General; V. O. King, 
Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics and History. 

U. S. Senators: M. C. Hamilton, 1870-1878 — succeeded by Richard Coke. 
J. W. Flanagan, 1870-1874 — succeeded by S. B. Maxey. Members of the 
House: The State was entitled to four members in 1870, and they were 
George W. Whitmore, John C. Connor, AVilliain T. Clark, and Edward 
Degner. In 1871-72: W. S. Herndon, D. C. Giddings, (two terms), and 
W. P. M'Lean. In 1873, after the new apporlionnjent, the State was 
entitled to two additional ; they were R. Q. Mills and Asa C. Willie, John 
Hancock, (from 1871 to 1876) ; D. C. Giddings, (1877-78, ; John H. Reagan, 
(1874-78) ; David B. Culbertson, (1874-78) ; J. W. Throckmorton, (1874-78) ; 
Roger Q. Mills, (1873-78); G. Schleicher, (1874-78). 

Lawlessness. — At the close of the Pease administration, mention was 
made of the prevalence ot lawlessness and crime. It was hoped that alter 
the restoration of civil law there would be an abatement of this lawless 
spirit. But unfortunately there was not. Under the Davis administration 
various excuses were otfered for its continuance. Party spirit ran high. 
The partizans of Mr. Davis charged that the disorders of society were 
chargeable to the war spirit still rampamt among their political opponents ; 
while the Democrats charged that these disorders were greatly aggravated 
by the State police. It is not possible, at this time, to fix the blame upon 
the guilty parties ; nor is it necessary. It was fondly hoped that with the 
inauguration of Governor Coke, who was elected by such an overwhelm- 
ing majority, the civil law would reassert itself, and arrest the spirit 
of insubordination. But it did not. On the 13th of June, Governor Coke 
issued a proclamation denouncing the sevei-est penalties of the law against 
transgressors, and exhorting civil officers to do their duty in the premises. 
This had some efiect, as the Governor says, in his message to the ensuing 
Legislature, that in one' year 853 convicts were sent to the penitentiary; 
and in about one-third of the State from which jjartial reports had been 
received, out of 1,561 trials for criminal offences, there resulted 981 convic- 
tions. There were, however, instances in which the civil law was still 
powerless; and in July, 1876, the Governor sent Captain L. H. M'Annelly, 
from Washington county, with fifty men to preserve the peace in DeWitt 
county. Peace was restored there ; but the presence of Captain M'Anuel- 
ly's company was demanded in otlier places, and up to the present time it 
has been found necessaiy to keep a few men in the Governor's employ to 
oiiforce civil law. During the summer of 1876, the worst band of robbers 
I hat ever infested our State was broken up. The time has come wlien 
ail good, law-abiding citizens, of all parties and nationalities, appear to be 
willing to unite in sustaining the officers of the law, and bringing criminals 
to justice. The most aggravated case of lawlessness during Governor Ilub- 
bai'd's administration occurred in El Paso county, when a mob displaced 
the civil oflScers and committed a number of murders. Many land-forgers 
have been sentenced to the Penitentiary ; and the bands engaged in robbing 
stages and I'ailroad trains, it is believed, have been broken up. 



LIST OF OFFICERS ELECTED. 439 

Officers of the Legislature since secession: Of the Senate— President 
<;lect, 11th Legislature, K. H. Guinn; 12th, Don Campbell, Webster Flana- 
gan; 13th, E. B. Pickett; 14th, John Ireland; 15th, Wells Thompson. 
Secretaries: 10th, P. De Cordova ; 11th, Wilham Leigh Chalmers; 12th, C. 
M. Campbell, and C. C. Allen; 13th, Wilham Leigh Chalmers; 14th, J. F. 
Beall; loth, William Leigh Chalmers. Officers of the House— Speakers : 
9th session, C. M. Buckley; 10th, M. D. K. Taylor; 11th, N. M. Burford ; 
12th, Ira H. Evans; 13th, M. D. K. Taylor; 14th, Guy M. Bryan ; 15th, T. 
R Bonner. Chief Clerks: 9th Legislature, William Leigh Chalmers; 10th, 
J. H. Herndon; 11th, J. V. Hutchins; 12th, John G. Boyle; 13th, 14th, 
and )5th, W. C Walsh 

At the election held November 5th, 1878, the candidates nomina;:ed by 
the State Democratic Convention, which met in Austin July 16th, were 
elected, receiving about two-thirds of the votes cast. The other third was 
divided between the candidates of the Greenback and the Republican 
parties. The following are the officers elected: 

O. M. Roberts, Governor; Joseph D. Sayers, Lieutenant-Governor; S. 
H. Darden, Comptroller; F. R. Lubbock, Treasurer; W. C. Walsh, Land 
Commissioner. George McCormick, Attorney-General ; George F. Moore, 
Chief Justice ; M. H. Bonner, Associate Justice. 

The Congressmen elect are: John H. Reagan, (Dem.), First District; 
D. C. Culberson, (Dem.), Second District; Olin Wellborn, (Dem.) Third 
District: R. Q. Mills, (Dem.), Fourth District; George W. Jones, (Ind.), 
J'ifth District; G. ScTiIeicher, (Dem.), Sizth District, died in Washington. 



PART Vli. 



Texas Indians 




COMANCHE WABRIOR. 



CHAPTER I. 

THREE GENERAL CLASSES OF INDIANS — 1, PUEBLAS — 2, INDIANS THAT CULTIVATE THE 
. SOIL — NASSONITES, CENNIS, CADDOS, WACOS, INTKUSIVE TRIBES — 3, NOMADIC, OR 

MIGRATORY INDIANS, THAT LIVE BY HUNTING : COMANCHES, APACHES, LIPANS, 

ETC., ETC 

WE propose in this cliapter to give a brief sketch of the Indians of 
our State. This does not include a much earlier race of aborig- 
ines-— the Mound-Builders, whose monuments of earth- works are 
found on our coast as far as the Nueces river. Nor do we propose to enter 
the domain of the antiquary, to inquire whence our Indians came, by 
what route, and who were their ancestors or their kinsmen. 

In the popular mind, there are erroneous impressions of our Indian 
races. It is generally supposed that Indians are all very much alike. On 
the contrary, they differ as widely in manners, in language, in religion, and 
in political institutions, as the peoples now inhabiting this continent — peo- 
ples who have migrated from all the nationsof the Old World. In general, 
the Indians found in the South were less bax'barous and cruel than those 
of a more northern latitude. Captive children and feeble women were 
sometimes put to death because they impeded travel, but such a barbarism 
as running the gauntlet was unknown here. lu war dances, the Caran- 
chuas and some other tribes drank the blood of their enemies, and tasted 
the flesh, but there is no evidence that any Texas tribes were cannibals. 

Our Indians may be classed under three general divisions : 1. The 
Pueblas, or village Indians. 2. The tribes who lived by agriculture and 
stock-raising. 3. The nomadic, or hunting and migratory tribes. 

I. Pueblas. — In 1537, seventy-five years before the English settled 
Jamestown, Marcus De Niza, a Franciscan missionary from the city of 
Mexico, crossed the Rio Grande and entered the village now known as 
Isleta, the present county seat of El Paso county. He found it then, 
as it is now, occupied by Puebla Indians, i^robably belonging to the 
Aztecs, or ancient inhabitants of the continent. They lived in comfort- 
able houses, dressed in a coarse kind of cloth made from cotton produced 
in the neighborhood, and had an abundance of corn, vegetables, etc. 
Very pacific, they i-eadily accepted the new doctrines introduced by 
the missionary, and conformed to the rites of the Church. 

Three years later, Isleta was visited, " captured, " in the pompous lan- 
guage of the narrator, by the Spaniards sent from Mexico under Coronado, 
when the innocent natives became Si)anish subjects. Coronado conferred 
upon the settlement the inestimable blessing of introducing sheep, cattle 



446 HISTOBY OF TEXAS. 

and horses. From the supply thus introduced have sprung the immensb 
herds and flocks and cabalhidos of hor>es in New Mexico. These Indians 
probably occupied their village for centuries before the discovery of the 
continent by Columbus. Neither the revolutions in Mexico, nor the peoplo 
of the United States, have produced any material change in the habits or 
customs of these Pucblas during the last three centuries. They are nov^ 
it>\ al and peaceable citizens of the United States, and of the State of Texas, 
'i'he Aranamas, near Goliad, were also Pueblas; and are said to have 
been farther advanced in civilization than those of the upper Rio Grande. 
If tradition is to be credited, they used glass windows in their two-story 
houses. They were pacific, and early fell a prey to their more belligerent 
neiglibors, the Caranchuas. The mission near Goliad, established for the 
Aranamas, was after annexation converted into a college building, and is 
now, we believe, private property. 

II. Tribes that Cultivated the Soil. — There were some twenty differ- 
ent tribes and bands that subsisted, in part, by cultivating the soil; though 
all, of course, engciged in hunting and fishing. The earliest discovered and 
most numerous, and most civilizeol of this class, were the Nassonites and 
Ceunis tribes on the Trinity and Neches rivers. The Orquizacos, on San 
Jacinto River and Bay belonged to the same general class. AVhen visited by 
La Salle, in 1685, the Indians received him kindly, and entertained him with 
genuine hospitality, and fui-nished him provisions and horses to continue his 
journey across the continent. A quarter of a century later, the same vil- 
lages afforded a refuge to Belisle and La Harpe. They ever proved faith- 
ful allies to the French. These tribes, so numerous and so noble, disappeared 
during the last years of the last century; and their disappeai'ance and fate 
are involved in almost as much mystery as the fate of the ten lost tribes of 
Israel. It was during an era of wars and revolutions. The long contest 
between France and Spain for the ownership and possession of Texas had 
finally been settled in favor of the latter; and these Indians, the ever- faith- 
ful allies of the French, are never more heard of, Yoakum suggests that 
possibly the intrusive tribes from the United States had a hand in their 
destruction. But it is useless to speculate on a subject which offers no 
rational prospect of solution. 

AVhen the Anglo-Americans reached this country, they found the old 
villages of the Nassonites occupied by small bands of Alabamas, Coshatties, 
and Muscogees, who had been driven from their rest on the Alabama River, 
and sought a new one here. These Indians have always been friendly with 
the whites, and in the days of the Republic four leagues of land were set 
apart for their homes ; but the whites have squatted upon the most valua- 
ble portions of the laud, until now they have but a few hundred acres left; 
and it is too poor to atti'act the cupidity of settlers. It is probable the 
small remnant of these Indians will soon be transferred to the Indian Terri- 
tory. These are now the only Indians claiming a doraicil in Texas. 

The Caddos were a powerful tril)e inhabiting East Texas and Louisiana. 
They were brave and Avarlike — possessed extensive fields of corn, large 
stocks of cattle, horses, etc., and were allies of the French. When driven 



INDIANS THAT CULTIVATE THE SOIL. 447 

from East Texas, they formed a large village near where Fort Worth now 
stands. 

The Tehas (or Texas) belonged to the Caddo family. This was once a 
powerful band. Coronado, in 1540, found the Tehas or Tayos on the 
upper Red River. He speaks in high terms of this tribe. They proved 
faithful guides. Joutel, the surviving companion of La Salle, found a vil- 
lage of this name on the Sabine. The map of Bellin, (Paris, 1744) locate-"^ 
the Tehas or Teijas village on tiie Trinity, near the present town of Crock- 
ett.* Am old map in our possession locates their vi'lage on the east side of 
the Neches River, at the old ci-ossing of the San Antonio and Nacogdorlios 
road. Their tribal existence was soon lost, but they have left their name 
inscribed upon one of the most brilliant stars of the great American con- 
stellation. 

The Naugdoches, or Nacogdoches, wei*.e another band of Caddos. One of 
the earliest missions established in Texas was for this tribe, which has left 
its name to the county in which their principal village was located. In 
San Agustine county there was another band of the same great family — the 
Ayisli ; for whom thei'e was also a mission established. 

•' The Keecliies," says Judge Burnet, " were a peculiar race. Their lan- 
guage differed radically from all others known in Texas. The Comauches 
held them in singular abhorrence, believing them to possess and exercise 
the pow or of witchcraft." They left their name on the creek on which they 
lived in East Texas. They were not very highly esteemed. Their men 
weie conjurers, and their women fortune-tellers. After being reduced to a 
few families, they sought a home across Red River. The Quapawswere 
another peculiar tribe. They were said to be a kind of Quakers, and were 
non-combatants. The Shawnees had a village near the present town of 
Henderson, Rusk county. The Teluiacaiiies gave tiieir name to a range of 
hills in Limestone county. A university located in their old range now 
bears their name. 

The principal village of the Wacoes was on the Brazos River, where tlie 
city of the same name now stands. This was a large tribe, and their vil- 
lages were found in several localities. 

The late George Wilkins Kendall, in his Santa Fe Expedition, gives a pic- 
ture of a Waco village which that party found on the Trinity River. " In 
a large bentl of the stream the village was situated, and all around were 
the corn-tields and pumpkin and melon patches of the inhabitants. Although 
the bend must have been five or six miles in length, by nearly two in breadth 
in the wider parts, every poition of it appeared to be in cultivation; and 
the land was extremely fertile. The purlieus of the village ajipenred to be 
kept clean. The wigwams, or houses rather, for th(!y deserve that name, 
werebtiiltin rows and had an air of neatness and regularity about them, 
such as I had never before observed in an Indian village. They were of 
conical shape, some twenty-five feet in height, and of about tl»e same diame- 
ter on the floor; the materials used in their construction being poles, 
buffalo hides and rushes. The poles were stuck in the ground, and after 
running up p('i-i)nndicularly some ten feet, were bent over so as to converge 
to a point at the top, thus giving a regular dome-like roof to carry off the 



448 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

rains Over these, buflFalo hides in some instances were made fast, and 
these again were covei-ed with long rushes — thus making thatched cottages 
impervious to dust and rain. 

'' Within many of the houses, at an elevation of four or five feet from the 
ground, was a row of berths extended nearly the whole circuit, and very 
neatly got up. The bottom of these berths appeared to be of rough basket 
work, the frame which supported them being of long poles. Tlie inhabit- 
ants liad carried oflFa principal part of their furniture, but had still enough 
left to convince us that, for Indians, they lived in much comfort and not a 
little style. Attached to each residence, and immediately in the rear was 
another building of smaller dimensions, the lower part of which was 
evidently used for a corn-crib and store-house. In these buildings we 
found a quantity of corn and pumpkins, besides finely-cured venison, ante- 
lope and buflalo meat. Above the corn-crib was a species of balcony." 

In one of these buildings was found a musical instrument, not unlike a 
fife, which Mr. Kendall suggested some love-sick Romeo used to charm Iiis 
Juliet. A house of much lai'ger dimensions was found near the centre of 
the village; probably the residence of the chief. Mr. Kendall adds: "1 
confess that I saw evidences of a more elevated kind of humanity than I 
had sui^posed was to be found anywhere among the original Americans." 

Higher up on the river, the Pawnees had extensive villages and culti- 
vated fields; while the home of the Anadaquas was on the Upper Brazos. 
Their principal village was near the present town of Graham, in Young 
county. Hosea Maria, one of the chiefs of this band, once with his 
warriors surprised and killed a party of foui'teen surveyors in Limestone 
county. 

The Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws and Delawares were Indians belonging 
to the United States. Driven from home, they sought a settlement in Texas. 
They became a source of trouble, and were, in 1839, expelled fi-om the 
Republic. 

III. We now come to the third class, the Nomads — the real live Indians — 
the Coraanches. In their own language, they call themselves Naini, or 
live people, intimating that other nations are growing cSete. This is the 
Indian that fills up our ideal of true savage life — the Arab of the prairie — 
the model of the fabled Thessalian ** Centaur," half horse, half man, so 
closely joined and so dexterously managed that it appears but one animal 
— fleet and furious. This is the class that has hung like a dark and threat- 
ening cloud over our frontier, disputing every inch of ground with the no 
less brave and determined pioneer settler. 

CoMANCHES. — This was the most powerful and warlike of all the native 
tribes of Texas. They are offshoots from the great Shoshone family. From 
the earliest settlement of the country they were hostile to the Spaniards ; 
but, up to 1836, were on friendly terms with the people of the United 
States. Their range extended along the entire frontier of Texas, but their 
principal villages were on the Upper Colorado. The San Saba Mission was 
established for their benefit. Their government was a mixture of the 
Patriarchal and the Republican. Their chiefs wei-e elective, and exercised 
a paternal, rather than a despotic authority. Ditficulties were settled 



WARLIKE TRIBES. 4A9 

generally by arbitration. On foot the Comanche is ungainly and awkward, 
but is perfectly at home on horseback. They are coasidered the best horse- 
men in the world. The women pei'form the drudgery, and as described by 
Mr. Callin, in 1833, wore slips made of dressed skins. They practiced 
polygamy, and divorces could be readily obtained, especially by the hus- 
band. Mr. Catlin said they had no system of worship, and but very indis- 
tinct ideas of a future state. But Captain Marcy, who spent months in the 
tribe, says they are Theists, worshipping one Supreme Being, and believe 
iirnily in a future state. Vai'ious estimates are given as to their numbers. 
In 1833, Mr. Catlin estimated them at from 30,000 to 40,000; but Captain 
Marcy puts the number at from 12,000 to 18,000. ''They have," continues 
the Captain, " three local grand divisions : Northern, Middle and Southern ; 
designated by them as, Tennawas, Yamparicks and Comanches. These 
again, are subdivided into smaller bands, each having its separate chief or 
captain. The southern Comanches alone remain permanently iu Texas. 
They consist of two bands. The names of their two principal chiefs in 1854, 
were Shascahco and Ketumse. The aggregate number in the two bands at 
that time was about 1,100 souls. The middle band numbered 3.500, and 
resided on the Canadian river, but sometimes followed the butFaloes to the 
Brazos river. The northern band, which was much larger than either of 
the others, seldom entered Texas." 

Apaches. — A brave and warlike tribe of hunters, whose principal village 
was at the Bandera Pass. For a century this tribe depredated upon the 
citizens of San Antonio. They were generally in close alliance with the 
Comanches, a kindred tribe. 

LiPANS. — This was a numerous and warlike tribe of migi'atory Indians, 
inhabiting the country between the Nueces and Eio Grande rivers. They 
belonged to the same great family with the Comanches and Apaches. They 
early acquired the Spanish language and became Spanish subjects. In 1811,. 
300 Lipan warriors fought in the ranks of Mr. Menchaca, when he captured 
Hidiilgo In 1813, 100 of them fought in the Republican ranks at the battle 
of Rosillo, near San Antonio. The Lipans, being Mexican subjects, found 
a home on the west side of the Rio Grande. It is supposed that they still 
occasionally visit Texas in small thieving bands. 

ToNKAWAS. — A small tribe on the Colorado. They were in mortal dread 
of the Comanches, and always lived near the American settlementii. They 
souH'limes committed petty thefts, but were never openly hostile. Their 
principal chief, Placido was implicitly trusted by Burleson and other 
Texans, when fighting the Comanches and other hostile tribes. During 
the late war a number of the Reservation Indians enlisted in the Union 
army; Placido absolutely refused to enlist, as he said he could never 
light against Texas. In a melee which ensued, he and a number of his 
men were kilkd. There is a small remnant of this band in the Indian 
Territory, that desires to return to Texas. 

KioKAPoos.— A b.md of this tribe, belonging to the great Algonquin 
family— came first from Illinois <o Missouri, thence into the Indian Terri- 
tor\ . and finally into Texas, and established a village in the neighborhood 
of Crockett,' in Houston county. 



450 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

.KiowAS. — This brave and powerful tribe did not belong to Texas. Their 
home is in the Indian Territory and Arizona. They, liowever, occasionally 
followed the buffaloes to the Brazos, and committed depredations on Texas 
settlements. 

We have now enumerated the principal tribes of Texas In ians. When 
the Spanish and French adventurers and explorers visited the country, they 
found these Indians friendly, and were treated with hospitality. Are the 
Indians alone responsible for subsequent scenes of blood and carnage? We 
subjoin the testimony of one American: 

Captain Randall Jones, one of Austin's first colonists, and a gentleman of 
unimpeachable veracity, spent the years from 1813 to 1818 as a trader 
among the Indians of Texas. In his journal he says : " I have now been five 
years trading among the Indians and jNlexicans. During the whole of this 
period, I can say with truth, that I was always treated with respect and 
attention. In all my transactions, either with Mexicans or Indians, I 
endeavored to act justly, and was never insulted or mistreated by them." 



CHAPTER 11. 



BATTLES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER— OX GALVESTON ISLAND, 1818-1821— ON THE 
COLORADO, 1822-23— CARANCHUAS BANLSHED. 1825— FIGHTS FROM 1826 TO 182!)— 
BOWIE'S FIGHT IN 1831— WILBARGER SCALPED IN 1833— ON RED RIVER IN 1834— 

■ PARKER'S FORT MASSACRE 1836— MRS. PLUMMER'S CAPTIVITY— CYNTHIA ANN 
PARKER RECLAIMED, AFTER A CAPTIVITY OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. 



INDIAN BATTLES, ETC., IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. — 1818. — While GalveS- 
ton Island was occupied by Lafitte, some of Jiis men stole a Carauchua 
squaw. To revenge this injury, about 300 of the Indians landed on the 
island, near the Three Trees. The pirates, to the number of 200, with two 
cannon, immediately proceeded down the island to meet them. After a 
severe fight and the loss of about thirty, the Indians were glad to withdraw 
to the main land. 

1821. — After Lafitte had left the island, a company, under Dr. Parnell, 
visited it to hunt for treasures supposed to have beeu buried by the free- 
booters. Parnell found some Indians on the. island, and attacked and drove 
them off. Mr. Yoakum suggests that it was these attacks that made the 
Caranchuas so hostile towards Austin's colonists. 

1822. — Two vessels arrived at the mouth of the Colorado with immi- 
grants. While the main party went up the river by land, the goods were 
left in charge of four young men at the landing. These young men were 
killed by the Indians, and the goods destroyed . Two of them were sons of 
Mr. Clopper, who afterwards settled on Buffalo bayou. 

1823.— The next year, three young men were hunting on the Colorado, 
below Eagle lake, when they were surprised by the Caranchuas, and 
Messrs. Loy and Alley were killed. John Clark, though badly wounded, 
plunged into the stream and escaped by swimming. He lived until 1861. 
His large estate is still in litigation. 

1824.— While surveying. Captain Chriesman had several skirmishes with 
the Caranchuas on the San Bernard river and Gulf Prairie. The severest 
encounter w^as with a company under Captain Itaudall Jones. This was 
on a creek in Brazoria county, since called Jones' creek. Fifteen Indians 
were killed. The whites lost three: Messrs. Bailey, Singer and Spencei-. 

1825. — 'i'he colonists were now sulficiontly strong to rid themselves of 
this small band; and Colonel Austin requested Captain Abner Knykendall 
to collect about one hundred militia and expel them from the colony. 
While pursuing them. Colonel Austin was met at the Menawhila creek, a 
few miles east of Goliad, by the priest of the Mission, who went security for 
the good behavior of the Indians. It was agreed that the latter should not 



452 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

come east of the San Antonio river; an agreement to which they all 
adliered. This was strictly in accordance with American policy ; first extin- 
guish the Indian's title to the land and then expel him from it, eitlier by 
banishment or extermination. 

1826,— A new settlement had been formed on the Guadalupe river, near 
Gonzales, in Dewitt's colony. AVhile a number of men were on the Colo- 
rado to celebrate the Fourth of July, the settlement was attacked by the 
Indians. John Wightnian was killed, and Ba-il Durbiii badly wounded. 
The houses were burned and the settlement for a time broken up. Deaf 
Smith went to San Antonio, Henry S. Brown to Brazoria. James Kerr to 
the Lavaca river, and others scattei'ed to different parts of Texas. 

1829. — Captains A. Kuykendall and Henry S. Brown conducted a scout- 
ing party up the Colorado. Near the mouth of the San Saba they found an 
encampment of the Waco and Tehuacana Indians. The Indians were 
defeated and their camp destroyed. 

1831. — Bowie's Fight. — In 1830 the celebrated James Bowie became a 
citizen of San Antonio and married the daughter of Don Veramendi, the 
Vice-Governor. On the 2d of November, 1831, he and his brother Ilezin P. 
Bowie, and seven other Americans and two negro servants, started to hunt 
for the San Saba silver mines. "VYhen in the neighborhoc d of the old mission, 
on the San Saba river, they were attacked by 164 Tehuacana and Caddo 
Indians. The Bowies threw up temporary breastworks, which the Indians 
repeatedly and vigorously attacked. Falling in these assaults, the Indians 
next attempted to burn them out by setti,ng fire to the long prairie grass. 
The Amei'icans, however, sternly held their ground. The fight lasted from 
sunrise in the morning until dark, when the savages sullenly retired, having 
lost nearly one-half their number. One of Bowie's men. was killed and 
three wounded. 

The citizens of Bexar, in a memorial to the General Government, state 
that from 1822 to 1832, ninety-seven citizens, besides the soldiers killed in 
battle, had been murdered by hostile Indians. 

1833. — Josiah Wilbarger and two companions were out hunting on Wal- 
nut creek, east of the city of Austin, when they were surprised by Indians 
and one of their number instantly killed. Wilbarger was shot and scalped 
and left for dead. Young Hornsby escaped upon a fleet horse to the settle- 
ment. A party went out the next day and buried the one who was killed. 
Wilbarger was still living, and though weak with the loss of blood, he had 
crawled to a water-hole. He lived twelve years and married; but finally 
died from the efi'ects of the scalping.* 

1834. — The Kiowas killed Judge Gabriel N. Martin, on Red river, and 
took Matthew N. Martin, his son, prisoner. Mr. INIartin's brother in-law, 
Travis G. Wright, with three companions, started to recover the lost boy. 



*Thc night young Homsby reached home, his mother had a singular dream; she 
dreamed that she saw Wilbarger lying at a water-hole, faint and bleeding, but stiil alive. 
This dream was twice repeated, and made wo strong an impression upon licr that she 
persuaded the i)arty going out to prepare a litter, which they did ; and the suffering mau. 
wa-i conveyed iu on that litter. 




A CHIEF OF THE KIOWAS. 



Parker's fort massacre. 455 

They fortunately fell in with a company of Unitert States soldiers, under 
Colonel Dodge, who found the Indians and recovered young Martin, and 
several other prisoners. The same year, Colonel John H. 'Moore, with 
Captains K. M. Wilhamson, Phil. Coe, and G. W. Bennett, went on a long 
and somewhat fatiguing scout againt the "VYacoes and Tehuacauies. It was 
during this year that Colonel Almonte visited the country to inquire into 
its condition. He reports the total Indian population at that time at 15,300 ; 
of whom 10,800 are regarded as hostile and 4,500 as friendly. Of the hostile 
Indians, Almonte assigns 9,900 to the department of Bexar, and 600 to the 
department of the Brazos. This does not include the civilized Indians 
about Nacogdoches, of whom Almonte speaks as citizens of Mexico, and 
loyal to that government. 

1836.— It was fortunate tbr Texas, that, during the early part of this 
year, so eventful in our history, Colonel Ellis P. Bean, a warm personal 
friend of Gen. Houston, was the agent for the Indians in East Texas. The 
survey and location of lands claimed by these Indians had already produced 
an unpleasant feeling between the two races. But Bean kept the Indians 
quiet until after the decisive battle of Sau Jacinto, when the victory of the 
Texans gave them such a prestige that the civilized tribes remained peace- 
able, though fears were then entertained that, if the Texans were defeated 
the whites in East Texas would have been either killed or driven from their 
homes. 

Parker's Fort Massacre.— The Parker family came from Missouri, iu 
1833, and settled in Limestone county, near the present town of Groesbeck, 
where they built a fort . On the 19th of May, 1836, this fort was visited by 
several hundred Comanche and Caddo Indians. At first the Indians pre- 
sented a white fl ig, and pretended friendship. At the time, of the thirty- 
five persons in the fort, only five were able to bear arms. The Indians 
inquired for a Avater-holc at which to camp ; and also wanted a beef Mr. 
Benjamin Parker stepped out to point them to water, when he was instant- 
ly killed. The savages then rushed into the fort, killing Benjamin Parker, 
senior, aged seventy-nine, Silas Parker, and Samuel and Robert Frost. 
Mrs. Sarah Parker was wounded. Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg, Mrs. Rachel 
Plummer, (daughter of James Parker), her son, James Platl Plummer, two 
years old ; Cynthia Ann Parker, eiirht years old, and her brother. Johu'par- 
ker, six years old, all children of Silas Parker, were taken' prisoners. 
Those that escaped were six days in the wilderness Avithout food, before 
they reached the settlements on the Brazos, in what is now Grimes county. 
Mrs. Kellogg was a prisoner about six months ; Mrs. Plummer a little over 
a year. She had not been long a prisoner when she was delivered of a 
child. The crying of her infant annoyed the Indians, and it was killed in a 
most cruel manner before her eyes. AVith an old knife slic dug a grave 
and buried it. She was given as a servant to a cruel old squauCwho 
treated her iu a most brutal manner. Another party had taken off her son 
and she supposed her husband and father had been killed at the fort, though' 
being at a distance in the field at work, they had escaped the massacre 
Her infant was dead, and her life was a burden. Siie resolved she would no 
longer submit to the brutal old squaw. One day when the two were some 
2{S 



456 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

distance from the camp, though still in sight, when her mistress attempted 
to beat her with a club, she wrenched the club out of her hands and liuock- 
ed the squaw* down. The Indians, who had seen the whole proceeding, 
came running up, and she fully expected to be killed, but they patted her on 
the shoiMev, cvy'm^, baeno / bueno f (well done!). Atter this she fared 
much better. She was eventually sold to a Santa Fe trader, who took her 
to Missouri, and she soon found her way back to her friends in Texas. She 
died about nine months after reaching home. Her son, after six years of 
captivity, was i*estored to his family. Both he and his father are now dead. 
Cynthia Ann Parker was a quarter of a century among the savages, and 
became the wife of a cliief. In 1860, Captain Eoss, of Waco, was out on th(! 
frontier, and in a fight with the Indians, captured a prisoner. Though the 
prisoner was in male attire, they suspected her sex. She was very much 
bronzed, and in habit a perfect Indian, but they were satisfied that she was 
a white woman. She was brought to Camp Cooper, forty miles west of 
Belknap, and word sent to the settlements. The venerable Isaac Parker 
still in hopes of hearing of liis long-lost niece, went to the camp. Her age 
and general appearace suited the object of his search, but she had lost everv 
word of her native tongue. Colonel P. was about to give up in despair 
when he turned to the interpreters and said very distinctly that the woman 
he was seeking was named Cynthia Ann. The sound of the name by 
which her mother had called her awakened in the bosom of the poor captive 
emotions that had long lain dormant. In a letter to us, Colonel Parker 
says: '' The moment I mentioned the name, she straightened lierself in her 
seat, and patting herself on the breast, said, ' Cynthia Ann, Cynthia Ann. 
A ray of recollection sprung up in her mind, that had been obliterated for 
twenty-five years. Her very counternance changed, and a pleasant smile 
took the place of a sullen gloom." She had one child with her, having left 
two others with the tribe. Returning with her uncle, she soon recovered 
her native tongue. It was during the war, and she learned to spin and 
weave, and to make herself useful generally about the house. She hoped 
when the war was over to get her other children, but both she and her 
child died. One of her sons was left with the Indians, and her husband is 
dead. The other son visited Texas in 1875. It is reported that her brother 
John had a romantic adventure, while a prisoner. The Indians, when 
raiding on the Rio Grande, captured a Mexican girl. The two became 
enamored of each other, though they liad not married, John took the small- 
pox, and the Indians left him to die. The girl insisted on remaining and 
taking care of him. He recovered, and it is said is living, with his devoted 
wife, on a stock ranch in the far AVest. 

In August of this year, the Indians went down the Yegua creek, by the 
neighborhood of Burton, and on Cumming's creek killed lion. J. G. Robin- 
sou and his brother. The same party, in leaving the settlement, killed the 
Gotier family, a few miles from the present town of Giddings. A little 
later, a party attacked the house of Mr. Taylor, near the three forks of 
Little River, but was repulsed. In November, Mr. Harvey and his wife 
were killed near AVheelock, and their daughter taken prisoner. S!ie was 
subsequently recovered from the Mexicans, to whom the Indians had sold 
her. 



CHAPTER III. 



INDIAN AFFAIRS DURING THE REPUBLIC— FIGHTING IN ROBERTSON'S COLONY IN 1887 
—NEAR SAN ANTONIO, 183S— BATTLE CREEK. NAVARRO COUNTY— ATTACK ON MOIi- 
GAN'S AND MAKLIN'S FAMILIES, IN FALLS COUNTY, IN 1839— EXPULSION OF I HE 
CHEROKEES— BLOODY WORK IN THE COUNCIL HOUSE IN SAN ANTONIO, 1840— CO- 
MANCHES BURN VICTORIA AND LINNVILLE, AND ARE DEFEATED AT PLUM CREEK— 
MOORK'S EXPEDITION TO THF, UPPER COLORADO— FROM 184 L TO 1847— RECOVERY OF 
MISS PUTNAM, AFTER A LONG SEPARATION FROM HER PARENTS. 

1837.— On the 7th of January, Captain George B. Erath, of the Eaiigers, 
had a fight with a band of Indians in Robertson's colonj^ The Indians 
were driven off, but two of the Rangers, Frank Childress and David Clarke, 
w^ere killed. About the first of February, some men were out huntino- 
hogs in the Trinity bottom, near old Fort Houston, Anderson county, when 
they were attacked by Indians. David and Evans Faulkenbury were killed 
and Abram Anglin and Anderson wounded. In May of this year, a num- 
of colonists were killed near Nashville, on the Brazos; and James Cor\cIl 
near Marlin. Later in the year, Lieutenant Van Benthuysen went with a 
scouting party towards the head waters of the Trinity river. He encoun- 
tered a body of Indians and had a severe fight, in which he lost Lieutenant 
Miles and eight privates killed, and tiiree others wounded. 

1838.— In April, Colonel Sparks F. Holland and a Mr. Berry were 
killed while out surveying on the Richland creek. In September, a large 
number of Comanches visited the neighborhood of San Antonio. Thev 
surprised a party of surveyors on the Leon creek, a few miles from the city. 
Moses Lapham and a Mr. Jones were killed and scalped. A Mexican 
named Padre Goaner was scalped, but succeeded in reaching the city, where 
he still lives. On the same day Francisco A. Ruiz and Nicolas Flores Ruiz 
were taken prisoners. Francisco Ruiz was well known to the Indians, and 
that night, one of the chiefs untied him, and told him to escape. He'iiow 
lives on the Medina river. Flores was probably killed, as he was never 
heard of afterward. When the news of this raid reached the city. Captain 
Frank Cage raised a company of thirteen men for pursuit. He had no id a 
of the number of the Indians. When out on the Castroville road, near 
where Colonel Means now lives, they suddenly found themselves surromulcd 
by a hundred or more warriors. Mr. James Campbell became separated 
from his companions, and made his way safely into the city. Captain Cage, 
W. D. Lee, Dr. M'CIung, O'Boyle, King and two others", were killed ; a"id 
General Richard Dunlap and Mnjor Patton badly wounded. Besides 
Campbell, Spears and Hood escaped unhurt. A party of citizens the next 



458 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

day brought in the bodies of the dead, and buried them in the Protestant 
burying ground, in San Antonio. On the 16lh of October, General Rusk 
had a fight near Kickapoo town, in which eleven Indians were killed, and 
some of Rusk's men wounded. On the 25th of the same month. General 
John C. Neil gained a victory over a party of Comanches, found near Fort 
Graham. 

Battle Creek Fight — Navarro County — In the fall of this year, a party 
of twenty-four men started from the old town of Franklin, in Robertson 
county, on a land-locating expedition, under the leadership of Captain 
William M. Love, who lived on Richland creek, in Navarro county. "When 
they reached the neighborhood of what is now known as Spring Hill, they 
met a large number of Indians, many of whom could speak our language. 
It always irritated Indians to see the white man survey his land-, and they 
informed the white men, if they did not desist, they would kill them. It so 
happened that one compass would not work, and it was necessary to send 
an express back for another instrument. Love and a man named Jackson 
volunteered to go; but before going he enjoined tipnn the I'emaining twenty- 
two men not to commence work until his return, but to hunt buflalo with 
the Indians, and drive all the buffalo out of the vicinity, thinking by driving 
off the- buffalo the Indians would follow. This prudent advice they did not 
follow, but in a day or two commenced work, and the Indians, true to their 
promise, commenced an attack upon them The whites took shelter in a 
ravine, and fought as bravely as men could tight, during an entire day, 
killing, as it has since been learned, more than three times their own number 
of the savage foe ; but when night came, after more than half their number 
had fallen, and they were neax'ly famished for the want of water, they made 
a break for the nearest timber. At this crisis all but thi-ee were killed or 
wounded. One man, whose name I do not remember, with another named 
Smith, and Colonel W. F. Henderson, escaped unhurt after much suffering. 
One of the men wandered off alone, and made his way to the settlements, 
while a man named Violet, with a broken leg, crawled eighteen miles to the 
Ty wockany Springs, and was found there nearly a week after the sad disaster, 
almost famished, but was rescued. Two of the party who escaped took 
with them General Walter P. Lane, severely wounded, with one leg broken. 
Although a few had thus escaped the wily foe, their danger was not over. 
The Indians well knew the trail leading to the nearest settlement, and were 
ahead of Henderson, Smith, and the wounded Lane, waylaying the route 
they were to pass. In those troublous times, both white and red man lay 
by in the daytime, and did most of their traveling by night. Captain Love 
and Jackson Avere returning from Franklin, and surprised the party of 
Indians while they were Avaylaying Lane and his friends, who were assist- 
ing him to hobble along. After disposing of the Indians, Love and Jackson 
had not proceeded far until, at dawn of day, they met what they supposed 
to be more Indians, and were upon the point of discharging their rifles, 
when they discovered it was Lane, Henderson, and Smith, who were march- 
ing into the trap set for them by their wily foe. Then Captain Love learned 
of the defeat of his party. After taking Lane to the settlement, a burial 
party was made up and i-epaired to the battle-ground, where the seventeen 



THE MORGAN MASSACRE. 459 

dead men were buried. This aflair gave name to Battle creek, one of the 
tributaries of Richland. 

1839 — THK MORGAN MASSACRE — ATTACK ON MARLIN'S HOUSE — BRYANT'S 

DEFEAT. 

On the east side of the Brazos, near the Falls, the Morgans and Marlins, 
somewhat intermarried, constituted several families, residing a few miles 
apart, some above and some a little below the site of the present village of 
Marlin. There was a considerable settlement along the river for some 
twenty miles, but the country beyond or above them was open to the 
Indians. The period to which reference is made was the winter of 1838-9. 

On Sunday night, the 1st day of January, 1839, a part of the families of 
James Marlin and Mrs. Jones and fhe family of Jackson Morgan, were 
together passing the night with the family of George Morgan, at what is 
now called Morgan's Point, six miles above the town of Marlin. The 
remainder of the divided families were at the house of John Marlin, seven 
miles below, that is. Fort Milam. John and James Marlin were brothers ; 
the others of that name were their children. 

A little after dark, the house of George Morgan was suddenly surrounded 
and attacked by Indians, who instantly rushed in and gave the inmates no 
time for defense. Old Mr. George Morgan and wife, their grandson, Jack- 
son Jones, Jackson Morgan's wife, and Miss Adeline Marlin, aged fifteen or 
sixteen years, were all tomahawked and scalped in the same room in the 
space of a few moments. Miss Stacy Ann Marlin (the wife of William 
Morgan) was severely wounded and left as dead. Three children were in 
the yard when the attack commenced. Of these Isaac Marlin, a child of 
ten years, secreted himself under the fence, and there remained until the 
tragedy was over. Wesley Jones, quite a child, first ran into the house, 
but, seeing the Indians entering and tomahawking the inmates, ran out, 
unobserved by the murderous wretches, and was followed by Mary Marlin, 
another child. They escaped together. The wounded lady, retaining 
consciousness, feigned death; but was not scalped, while all the others 
were. The Indians robbed the house of its contents and left. When they 
had done so and silence again reigned, the heroic child, Isaac Marlin— his 
name should be immortalized — re entered the house, and, by feeling the 
lifeless bodies, ascertained to his satisfaction who were killed. His wounded 
sister, supposing him to be an Indian, still remained motionless till he left, 
when she crawled out. Little Isaac then took the path for John Marliu's, 
and ran the seven miles very quickly— a swift child-messenger of death to 
his kindred there assembled. Wesley Jones and Mary Marlin did not get 
in till daylight, and the wounded Mrs. Morgan not till noon next day. 

When little Isaac got into John Marlin's house, that gentleman, his 
brother James, William N. P. and Wilson Marlin, Jackson and George W. 
Morgan, and Albert G. Gholsou immediately hastened to the scene, and 
found the fjicts identical with the child's narrali.ui. Other relief arrived 
next day, and the dead were consigned to their graves amid the wailings of 
their grief-stricken relatives and friends. 

Ten days later, being the 10th of January, 1839, the Indians, seventy in 
number, attacked the house of John Marlin and his son Benjamin, whose 



460 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

surviving family still reside in Milam county, and Jarett Menefee and his 
sou Thomas, who killed seven Indians and wounded others, without receiv- 
ing any injury themselves. Tired of that kind of reception, the enemy 
withdrew. When the attack was made, Menefee's negro man, " Hinchey," 
was "at Avork a short distance from the liouse ; but, fsxiling to reach it, he 
left in double-quick time for the settlements below, and made twenty-five 
miles in pretty fair saddle-horse time. "Hinchey" duly reported the 
attack, and a company was quickly gathered together to relieve tlie 
besieged. They lost no time in reaching Marliu's, but found the Indians 
had retreated as before stated. 

It was determined, however, upon a discussion of the matter by those 
present, that they must pursue and fight the Indians, or abandon their 
homes and fall back into the more settled parts of the country. They chose 
the former alternative, and made their dispositions accordingly. The 
effective force available for pursuit was foi*ty-eightmen. Benjamin Bryant 
(of Bryant's Station, whose surviving family still reside in Milam county) 
was called to the command. The names of the company were as follows: 

A. J. Powers, AVashington McGrew, Ward, Armstrong Barton, 

Plummer, Alfred Eaton, Hugh A. Henry, AV'iiliam Fullerton, A. J. Webb, 

Doss, Charles Soils (or Sawls), William N. P. Marlin, Bryant, G. 

W. Morgan, Enoch M. Jones, John R. Henry, Lewis B. and William C. 
Powers, Henry Haigwood, Eli Chandler, Ethan Stroud, Joseph Boren, 
William McGrew, Andrew McMillan, Clay and David Cobb, Richard Teel, 
Albert G. Gholson, Michael Castleman, Wilson Reed, AVily Carter, John 
Welsh, Britton Dawson, R. H. Matthews, David W. Campbell, Nathan. 
Campbell, John D. B. Smith, Jeremiah McDanel, AValter Campbell, Wil- 
liam Henry, Hugh Henry, John Marlin, Wilson Marlin, Joseph P. McCan- 
less, John Tucker, and Thomas Duncan, then a boy and now of Bell county, 
and one other whose name could not be remembered. 

On the next morning, Bryant took the trail of the enemy and pursued 
it; crossed the Brazos near Morgan's Point; on the west side found a 
deserted camp, with fresh sign ; about a mile out came upon a fresh trail 
bearing into the river, and followed it. At the river, counted sixty-four 
fresh horse-tracks and a large trail of foot Indians which crossed the river. 
Seeing the prairie on tire bplow, they supposed it to be Marliu's house and 
hastened back, without finding the enemy, and halted for the night. Next 
morning, January 16th, they started up again, and found that the Indians 
had been at the deserted houses two miles above and plundered them.. 
Thence they traveled up six miles to Morgan's Point, and suddenly discov- 
ered the enemy in the open post-oak near a dry branch. The noted chief, 
Jose Maria, who was riding in front, in perfect nonchakmce halted, slipped 
off his gloves, and, taking deliberate aim, fired at Boren, cutting his coat- 
sleeve. Jose Maria gave tho signal to call on his men, and the action, 
commenced. Bryant ordered a charge, which was gallantly made, though 
the captain received a wound at the time, which called Ethan Stroud to 
tlie command. The Indians fired, and fell back into the ravine. Simulta- 
neous with tlie charge, David W. Campbell fired at Jose Maria, the ball 
striking him on the breast-bone, but failing to dismount him. Albert (i. 
Gholson then shot his horse, which died in the ravine. Our men tiicn. 



ATTACK ON MARLIN's HOUSE. 461 

charged up to the bank of the ravine and fired, when the Indians commenced 
retreating- down its bed toward the bottom. Seeing this, several of our 
sharp-sliDOters rushed below them to hold them in check. This caused the 
enemy to return to the first position and renew the defense; by which 
time, supposing the day had been won, our men had somewhat scattered 
and were acting each for himself. The consequence was, that, when the 
enemy re-opened the fire, several were wounded and confusion and disorder 
ensued, to remedy which the men were ordered to retreat to another point 
some two hundred yards distant, to draw the Indians from their conceal- 
ment. This order, from the prevailing confusion, was understood by many 
to be for an unqualified retreat ; panic seized some of the men, which being 
discovered by the wily Jose Maria, he charged in full force, making the 
welkin ring with hideous and exulting yells. Several of our men fell, and 
the rout became general. Without order, in utter confusion, and each 
man acting for himself, they were hotly pursued for four miles, their pursu- 
ers dealing death and carnage among them. 

In this charge and retreat, the ten first named in the preceding list were 
killed, and the next five were wounded. All who were killed fell within 
one and a half miles of the battle-ground, the most of them within half a 
mile, being overtaken on foot. Plummer, Ward and Barton were killed at 
the ravine. In the disaster some acts were performed which deserve men- 
tion. David W. Campbell, not observing the retreat, was about being 
surrounded by the enemy, when the brave Captain Eli Chandler, already 
mounted, rushed to his relief and took him up behind him. Young Jackson 
Powers, missing his horse, mounted on a pony behind William McGrew, his 
ai'm being broken at the same moment, and was retreating. His brother 
William, however, came by on a large horse, and requested him to leave 
the pony and ride behind hiiu. He dismounted, but from his broken arm 
and the restlessness of the horse he was unable to mount, till, the Indians 
rushing upon him, his brother only left him as the poor boy fell under the 
tomahawk. William N. P. Marliu, before the retreat, was so severely 
wounded in the hip that he could not mount, and was about being left, 
when David Cobb r.in to him and threw him on his horse. Wilson Reed, a 
daring fellow, in the retreat was knocked from his horse by a tree, the 
enemy being close upon them, when he sang out in a half-mirthful tone: 
" O, Lord ! boys, Mary Ann is a widow !" But some brave fellow picked 
him up and carried him safely away. 

1839. — In January, Colonel John K. Moore, with sixty-three white vol- 
unteers and sixteen Lipan Indians, went on a scout to the Upper Colorado. 
They reached the neighborhood of a Comanche village on the 14th of Feb- 
ruary. The next day the village was partially destroyed, the warriors 
retreating to a strong position in a bend of the creek. The Texans had 
also retired a short distance, to reload, wlien they were vigorously attacked 
by a large body of warriors. The fight was not very decisive. Colonel 
Moore had one man killed, and three wounded. On the 20th of April, 
Mrs. Coleman, widow of Colonel K. M. Coleman, and her son were killed 
near Webberville. Jacob Burleson raised a small company and pursued 
the Indians, who were found in force and strongly posted on Brushy creek. 
The next day General Ed. Burleson arrived with reinforcements, when a 



462 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

severe battle was fought, in which it was said twenty Indians were killed. 
General Burleson's brother, Jacob, and James Gilleland, John Watters, and 
Edward Blakie were killed. A number of others were wounded. On the 
27th of May, Captain John Bird left Fort Milam, at the Falls of the Brazos, 
for a general scout. Indians were found and severely dealt with, on Little 
river. In this engagement the whites lost four killed, including Captain 
Bird. About the same time, a Mr. Webster started from Austin to settle on 
his head-right league of land on the North Gabriel. He had fourteen men, 
his wife, three children and a negro woman. He found a large body of 
Comanches encamped on his land, and attempted to retreat; encamping 
that night on Brushy creek. For fear of an attark, Mr. Webster formed a 
kind ol" barricade with his wagons, and prepared for defence. The next 
morning they were assaulted. The tight continued until all the men Avere 
killed, when Mrs. Webster and two of her children, and the negro woman, 

Xwere taken prisoners. 
Expulsion of the Cherokees.— President Lamar's policy was to expel 
all Indians from Texas. He believed the civilized tribes were intruders, 
and that their presence retarded the settlement of the country. He there- 
fore resolved upon their expulsion. It was said these Indians had com- 
mitted many depredations, especially that they had murdered the Killough 
family, of whom some sixteen or eighteen had been killed. The Cherokees, 
however disclaimed all responsibility for these murders, and laid the blame 
on wild Indians. Vice-President Burnet and General A. S. Johnston, Sec- 
retary of War, were sent to the Indian village, on the Angelina river, to 
induce the Indians to peacefully withdraw to their Territory. These Com- 
missioners were authorized to pay the Cherokees for their improvements. 
The Indians utterly refused to give up their homes. In anticipation of such 
refusal, three regiments of volunteers had been collected and sent to the 
neighborhoed, under Colonels Burleson, Rusk and Landrum, all under the 
cornmand of General Douglass. All negotiations having been unavailing 
to induce the Indians to leave, they were attacked on the 15th of July. 
After losing eighteen of their number they retreated to the Neches river. 
They were followed the next day by the Texans, and another severe battle 
was fought. In this the Indians lost about one hundred in killed and 
wounded. In the first day's fight the Texans lost three killed and five 
wounded ; on the second day they lost five killed and seventeen wounded. 
After this disastrous defeat the Indians abandoned their fine lands and 
homes to the whites. 

In October, Captain Thomas B. Howard inflicted a severe chastisement 
upon a party of Indians on Little river. The year 1839 closed with a fight 
between Colonel Burleson and a party of Indians found on Cherokee creek, 
San Saba county. In this fight six Indians were killed, and some women 
and children taken prisoners. Among these were the wife and children of 
the celebrated Cherokee chief, Bowles, who had been killed when his people 
were driven from East Texas. 

1840.— Fight in Council House, San Antonio.— Early in 1840 some 
Comanche chiefs sent in word to Captain Karnes that they wished to come 
in and make peace. They were told to come in and bring with them all the 




-^=s^' 



BATTLE CREEK FIGHT, NAVARRO CO.— 1838. 



COMANCHE INVASION. 465 

prisoners they held. When they arrived they brought but one little girl, a 
Miss Lockhart. They were known to have others, especially a Mrs. Webster 
and child, taken from the neighborhood of Georgetown a few weeks previ- 
ously. During the confusion after the battle, this lady escaped, and, after 
nearly perishing for water, finally with her child reached the city. On the 
19th of March, twelve chiefs entered the building used as a court-house ; 
where they met the Commissioners appointed by Prasident Lamar, with the 
interpreter. The Indians were upbraided for not bringing more captives 
held by them. They said the one brought was all they held ; this was said 
in a defiant tone. In the meantime a company of Texas Kangers came on 
the ground, Captain Howard and some of his men entering the house. The 
interpreter was told to inform them that they would be held as hostages, 
until the other prisoners were brought in. The interpreter at first refused 
to tell them, as he said they would instantly fight. But the Commissioners 
insisted, and plat-ing himself near the door, he told them and left. As he 
had said, the chiefs immediately drew their bows and knives. One started 
toward the door in which Captain Howard was standing. The captain 
received a severe cut with a knife, but killed the Indian. A general fight 
ensued, in which Indians, men and women, participated. A powerful chief 
attacked Colonel M. Caldwell, who was not armed. He defended himself 
with rocks until a soldier shot the savage. In an adjoining room, Mr. 
Morgan was attacked by two Indians, and killed both of them. Lieutenant 
Dunnington was killed by a squaw, who shot an arrow through his body. 
Judge Thompson was in the yard, amusing himself by setting up pieces of 
money for the little Indians to knock out. He was killed by an arrow, 
before he suspected danger. Judge Hood was killed in the council-house. 
Colonel Lysander Wells rode into the plaza just as the fight commenced. 
A powerful savage vaulted on behind him, and first attempted to unhorse 
him. Failing in this, he tried to guide the horse out of the plaza. The 
colonel, held fast as he was, found himself unable to draw his pistol. 
Fiially, after passing two or three times around the plaza, the Indian was 
shot by a soldier, and AVells relieved from his awkward predicament. The 
melee lasted until all the warriors (thirty) were killed. Two Indian 
women and three children were also killed. The loss of the Texans was 
seven killed and eight wounded. 

Comanche Invasion.— On the 4th of August some four hundred Com- 
anche warriors crossed Plum ci-eek, in Caldwell county, going down the 
country. .They reached Victoria on the 6th, and after burning part of the 
town and committing other depredations, they descended to Linnville, a 
trading point on Lavaca Bay, entering that place early on the morning of 
the 8th. Most of the men of the village were absent, and the savages pro- 
ceeded to pillage and burn the place. Three families took refuge on a small 
sail vessel in the harbor. While Major' Watts, Collector of Customs, was 
trying to reach the vessel, he was shot down, and his wife taken prisoner. 
Fi'om Linnville the Indians hastily withdrew with their valuable booty. 
As the news of this raid spread through the settlements, the people rallied 
under their favorite leaders to intercept thom. Plum creek was the place 
of rendezvous. Here were concentrated the companies of Captains Ben 



466 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

McCulloch, Clarke L. OAveii, Ed. Burleson, M. Caldwell, Thos. W. Ward^ 
^Y J E Wallace, Monroe Hardiman, and others, all under the command 
of "General Felix Huston. On the morning of August 18th the Indians had 
just started their pack mules, and were preparing to follow, when they were 
attacked by the Texans. The Indians hastily retreated. As they could not 
carry off their prisoners, they shot them. Mrs. Crosby, taken near Victoria, 
wis killed. Mrs. Watts was found with an arrow in her breast, liie 
MiTOW was withdrawn, and she recovered, and died in 1878, while keeping 
the San Antonio House, in Port Lavaca. During the invasion twenty-one- 
whites had been killed, though none fell in the fight. The Indians lost 
twenty-seven killed and more wounded. 

On the 5th of October. Colonel John Moore, with ninety Texans and 
twelve Lipans started on a scout to the upper Colorado. When about throe 
hundred miles above Austin, a Comanche village was discovered This was^ 
October 23d. Earlv the next morning the village was attacked. The 
Indians were completely surprised, and the village destroyed. Forty-eight 
Indians were killed in the village. As they were retreating- to the river, 
Captain Owen was sent forward to intercept their flight. In this he was. 
successful. Eighty more men, women and children were either sho or 
drowned in the stream. Thirty-four prisoners were taken. In he village 
the Texans found goods taken the previous summer from Linnville. Moore 
had two men wounded ; none killed. , -n, xt 

1841 -Comparatively little fighting was done this year. General EH. 
Tarrant destroyed an Indian village on the Trinity river, above Da las 
There were some skirmishes, especially in northern Texas, in one of which 
John B. Denton was killed, on a creek that bears his name, in Dentoa 

^""isi^LDuring Houston's second administration, the Indians were com- 
paratively quiet. He pursued his well-known pacific policy. There were,- 
however, occasional raids. In March a small band visited Austin, kilhng a 
Mr Ward and Mr. Hadley. In the same month a party visited Carlos 
ian'ch, on the San Antonio river, and killed Mr. Gilleland and his wife, and 
took their children, a Uttle girl and her youilger brother, prisoners. The 
children were subsequently recovered by a company of rangers under Cap- 
tain M. (Mustang) Gray. At this present writing, Mr. Gilleland and his> 
sister wife of Rev. Dr. Fisher, Uve in Austin. 

1844 -The Indians continued to be peaceable. Thomas I. Smith and 
John C. Nail, as commissioners on the part of Texas, met at Tehuacana 
creek, in Limestone county, representatives of the Comanches", Keechies, 
Wacoes, Caddoes, Anadaquas, Delawares, Cherokees, Lipans and Tonka- 
was, and entered into treaties with them. The 'Indian question has 
alwlys been troublesome and expensive. In a speech in the United States 
Senate, July 14, 1854, General Rusk stated that Texas had, during the ten 
years of the repubUc, expended $3,815,011 in protecting her ciUzens against 
the Indians. 



CHAPTER IV. 



NUMBER OF INDIANS IN THE STATE AT ANNEXATION— INDIAN RESEVES — PROSPKROrS 
lU" r .SOON BROKKN UP— DOVK CREEK FIGHT— SCALPLNG OF MRS. FRIKND— TEXAS^ 
NOW FREK FROM INDIAN RAIDS. 

/Vi HE last time auy considerable number of hostile Indians penetrated 

I the settlements was in the summer of 1848. About two hundred Li- 
pans passed down the Cibolo creek, and out towards the Rio Grande, 
committing' some murders and thefts. 

1849. — By the treaty of annexation the Indians wei"e placed under the 
the control of the United States. Major Neighbors was Indian agent. He 
estimated their numbers at 29,500, distributed as follows: Comanches, 
20,000; Kiowas, 1,500; Caddoes, 1,400; Lipans, 600; Keechies, 300; Wa- 
coes, etc., 1,000; Delawares, 650; Tonkawas, 650; Apaches, 3,500. 

In January, 1851, a committee of the Legislature reported that during 
the year 1849 the Indians had, in Texas, killed 171 persons, wounded seven 
and taken twenty-five into captivity, and had stolen 6,000 horses, and prop- 
erty valued at $100,000. 

In 1853 the Forester family was killed, on the Medina river, twenty-five 
miles from San Antonio. It is supposed the Tonkawas did the killing, 
though this tribe always professed to maintain friendly relatione with the 
whites. 

Indian Reserves. — It was thought the native tribes of Indians were 
entitled to a domicil in the State, and, in 1854, the Legislature passed a bill 
giving temporary control to the United States of two tracts of land, in what 
was then Young district, for Indian reserves. We transfer from the Texas 
Almanac of 1858 the following account of these reserves: 

The State of Texas, by Act of the Legislature, set apart twelve leagues of laud, upon 
which the Texas ludians were to be settled by the United States Goveruiuciit. Said 
twelve leagues, or 55,728 acres of land, to be reserved to the United States for the use 
and benetit of the Texas Indians exclusively. Under the supervision of JShijor R. 8. 
Neighbors, eight leagues of land were located on the Brazos river, below the juncMou 
of the Clear Fork and Main Brazos, and about tifieen miles below Fort Belknap. Tliis 
reservation is culled the Brazos Agency, and contains about eleven hundred suuls, eou- 
sisting of Caddorg, Anadahkoes, Wacoes, Tahwacanoes and Tonkaluias. There are 
other Indians than those named, but they are enumerated as Caddoes chiefly. C)n this 
reserve there arc six hundred acres of land in successful cultivation in wheat and corn. 
The mode of culture is the same, or similar to tliat of the Americans. Tiicse Brazos 
Reserve Indians have made extraordinary progress in civilization, since their settle- 
ment in 1853, and are very hon'est. trustworthy and industrious. They have a schotd, 
under the charge of Mr. Ellis Combes. Mr. C. report* fifty scholars in regular attend- 



468 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ance; and, judging from the interest taken in this educational enterprise by the old 
Indians, he is inclined to the opinion that good re^ult3 will come of it. On this Reser- 
vation there are several good houses, built expressly for tlie transaction of all and any 
business connected with the Indians. These buildings are situated near the centre of 
the Reserve, in a very pi-etty mesquit valley, the approach to which aflbrds a most 
lovely and sightly landscape. Captain S. P. Ross, an old Texan and a worthy man, is 
the Special Agent of the United States Government, in charge of the Brazos Agency 
Captain Ross' long experience on the frontier, and superior kHi>\vlcdge of the Indian 
cliiiracter, eminently fit him for the position he occupies. lIi-> salary is $1,500 per 
auDum. 

The Comanche Reserve is about sixty miles distant from the Brazos Agency, and is 
located on the Clear Fork of the Brazos river, forty-live miles above its confluence with 
the main Brazos. Their Reserve extends over four leagues of land, and contains four 
hundred souls — all Comanches, known as the Southern band of that tribe. Then- head 
chief is a good man, and has been a valuable auxiliary in the reclamation of these 
Indians from savage life. He is known by the name of Ketemesie. The Comanches 
ha\ e not made the same progress as the Brazos Reserve Indians — not that they are any 
more indolent or lazy, but because of their total estrangement heretofore from the 
manners and customs of the white man. The Indians on the Brazos Reserve have 
always lived near, and frequently among the white settlers, while the Comanches have 
been outside of all intercourse of a friendly nature. This agency is furnished with all 
necessary buildings, and, like the Brazos Agency, is supplied with competent and trust- 
worthy farmers and artisans. The Comanches have a good crop this year, and will, 
most probably, make sufficient to bread themselves. Colonel M. Leeper is their Agent, 
at a salary of $1,500 per annum. 

The United States Government has been very liberal in its appropriations for the 
benefit of the reclaimed savage, and has spared neither trouble or expense in the fur- 
therance of the peace-policy — a policy which is now beginning to show its good effects. 
It does justice to the Indian — is due to the cause of humanity, and reflects great credit 
upo.u the originators thereof. 

Major R. S. Neighbors is the Supervising Agent of the Government for all the Texas 
Indians, at a salary of $2,000 per annum. The Major is too well known throughout the 
country for any attempt to be made here eulogistic of his public services. To him, 
more than any other, should be ascribed the success of the Indian-feeding policy in 
Texas. The duties appertaining to the office of Supervising Agent are very onerous 
and responsible, and not unfrequently hazardous. His course towards the Indians must 
be scrupulously correct and straightforward; there cannot be one jot or tittle of devia- 
tion at all from the line of policy marked out. The Indian is liberal in extending his 
confidence, but it must be carefully cherished . His memory is the rock of ages ; there 
is no *' two ways " about it. Major Neighbors disburses annually about ^80,000 for the 
use of the Texas Indians. 

Texas has wisely granted jurisdiction to the United States over ten miles adjoining 
each Reserve. This is to prevent the sale or traffic in intoxicating liquors. The civil 
authority has jurisdiction in all criminal cases, on both Reserves; as well have the In- 
dians police regulations, of the strictest sort, for their own government. Their imme- 
diate agents are constituted magistrates, before whom all or any ofleuders are brought 
for trial. There is less theft or disturbance, of any kind, among these people, than 
there i.^ among the same population of Americans. Suffice it that the Feeding or Peace- 
Policy in Texas is a success. It has demonstrated, beyond a doubt, that Indians can be 
civilized and reclaimed. The Brazos Reserve Indians have tended their own crops, 
which will compare favorably with any in the State ; and have also kept from fifty to 
one hundred men on ranging service during the season, and have been great protection 
to the frontier. 

Charles E. Barnard, Esq., is the authorized Goverrmient Indian Trader for botTi 
Reserves. Mr. B. has beru trading with the Indians on the frontier for a period of 
fifteen years or more. He is welf known t > all the Indians m Texas, and enjoys their 



INDIAN AFFAIRS. 469 

entire confidence. It is nothing but justice to Mr. Barnard to say that his services have 
been invaluable to the Indian Agents in carrying out the views of the P'ederal Govern- 
ment. The trading with the Indians is not so protitable now as it was some years past, 
when the Indians depended upon their hunting for means of support. The trade in 
skins and peltries is entirely stopped, and the Indians now look to the products of their 
farms and stock-raisii>g for support. They have generally good stocks of hogs, cattle 
and horses, and are doing well with them. 

In 1858 there wevo reported on these reserves : Tonkawas, 250 ; Tehua. 
canas, 204; Wacoes, 171; Comanches, 380; Aiiadaquas, 235; Caddoes, etc., 
219; total, 1,489. They had schools, and a missionary preached tc them 
occasionally. But the same reasons which required the removal of the 
Cherokees from East Texas, rendered it imperative to remove the reserve 
Indians from Texas. After some disturbances between the Indians and 
the citizens, Major George H. Thomas, of the U. S. Army, in August, 1859, 
transferred the Indians to the Indian Territory. 

The census tables for 1860 report only 403 Indians as residents in Texas. 
These were the Alabamas, etc., in Polk county. 

During the civil war the Indians were comparatively quiet. Being within 
the Federal lines, many of them enlisted in the Union army. Some, how- 
ever, came to the Confederates, and others remained neutral. Among these 
were the Kickapoos. To avoid the necessity of taking any part in the 
contest, about one thousand of tliis tribe determined to remove to Mexico, 
and started through Texas for the Rio Grande. When camped on Dove 
creek, a tributary of the Concho, they were discovered by the Texans, who 
were in pursuit of them with about four hundred Confederate soldiers and 
militia. The Indians were in a dense thicket. The Texans, with great 
gallantry, charged the thicket ; but they were met with such a hot i-eceptiou 
tliat they were compelled to fall back. The charge was renewed, time and 
again, but without dislodging the Indians. At night the assailants with- 
drew, having lost seventeen killed and twenty-five wounded. They 
intended the next morning to renew the fight, but a rain having set in, they 
returned to Camp Colorado and reported having killed fifty-three Indians, 
including two women and two children. The Indians, when they arrived 
at Piedras Negras, said that when they were discovered by the Texans 
they sent a flag of truce to let the Texans know that they only desired 
peaceably to pass to their new homes in Mexico. The flag was fired upon, 
(so they said) and their encampment, with the women and children, 
attacked. They reported that in the fight fourteen of their warriors were 
killed and eight wounded. For some j^ears after this fight, the Kickapoos 
were troublesome, crossing the Rio Grande and committing depredations in 
Ti'xas. Finally, in 1874-5, the United States Commissioners removed the 
most of them back to their former homes in the Indian Territory. 

A report made to the Legislature, after a careful investigation by a com- 
mittee, states that in the two years immediately after the close of the war, 
162 persons had been killed in Texas by the Indians; forty-three had been 
carried into ca[)tivity and stolen. A volume might be written, detailing the 
particulars of these raids and murders. 

For ten years after the close of tiie war, almost every month, with the 
full moon, came an Indian raid into some part of the frontier. Newspapers 



470 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

were full of the harrowing details. It is not possible to give all these inci- 
deuts. We give one taken from one of the newspaper accounts at the time 
it occurred. We knew the parties in former years. Mrs. Friend, the lady 
scalped, was a daughter of Rev. Joseph Dancer, one of the earliest preacli- 
ers on the frontier. He was killed by the Indians a year before the raid 
described below. The little boy, who was carried into captivity, was finally 
recoveied by his grandfather, Rev. Leonard S. Friend: 

tiLANO, Llano Co., Texas, Feb. 11th, 1868. 

'' The most horrible Indian depredations were committed in this county, 
commencing on the evening of the 6th inst. 

" The Indians, numbering twelve or fifteen, attacked the house of Mr. 
John S. Friend, about sixteen miles from this place, in Legion Valley. 
When first discovered by Mrs. Friend, (the only living witness of the awful 
scene), the Indians were in the yard, and directly comncienced tearing down 
the house. The only resistance made was by Mrs. Friend, who contended 
as bravely as any woman that ever lived. The Indians succeeded in getting 
into the house. Mrs. Friend attempted to shoot one, but the gun was 
wrested from her hands ; the Indian attempting to shoot her, she knocked 
the gun out of his hands with a chair. She afterwards knocked the Indian 
down with a smoothing iron. Mrs. Friend was then shot in the breast with 
an arrow, and fell, perhaps fainted. She was also badly cut across the 
hand, and shot through one arm. The shots were with an arrow. She 
was then scalped and left for dead. Fortunately she recovered sufficiently 
to watch the Indians start off But one barbarous wretch, thinking there 
was possibly life remaining in his victim, returned and gave the arrow, 
sticking in her breast, several severe jerks backward and forward, to see if 
she would flinch. Mrs. Friend noticing the Indian returning, placed herself 
in exactly the position she was while being scalped, and remained as if 
lifeless during all this torture. She then saw the Indians take ofi" as 
prisonei's Mrs. Boy Johnson and child, Mrs. Babe Johnson and child, Miss 

Townsend, a little girl named Cordle, and Mrs. Friend's little sou — 

seven in all. After Mrs. Friend recovered slightly, she started to the widow 
Johnson's house, distant one and-a-half miles, where a Mr. Bradford and 
family were staying. Mr. Bradford pulled the arrow out of her breast, 
placed a cloth over her head and then fled to the woods, leaving her alone 
sitting before the fire, in which condition she remained until next morning. 
The attack was made before sun-down. Twenty-four hours passed before 
the physician at this place was called ; at the same time word was received 
here of the afiair. Every man that could possibly go, started immediately 
— a part going to the scene of the late fatal occurrence. Ai-riving in the 
night, we had to wait until morning to see the trail, which w^as thirty-six 
hours after the occurrence. 

•One child, that of Mrs. Boy Johnson, was found next evening after taken, 
abi)ut three and-a-half or four miles from Mr. Friend's house. The next 
morning we found Mrs. Babe Johnson's child with its throat cut from ear 
to ear, and about ten o'clock of tlie same day, after trailing over one of the 
rouo'hest mountains, we found both of the Mrs. Johnsons, murdered'and 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 471 

scalped. The same evening Miss Townsend was found murdered, scalped 
and horribly mutilated, too horribly to be described. The little Miss Cordle 
and Mr. Friend's son ai-e supposed to be still in the hands of the Indians . 
*' Parties have watched passes, and tried to follow the trail, but the Indians 
have eluded all. Old Mr. Smith was killed and scalpod, near the old Fort 
Mason crossing, on the same day of the other depredations." 







TRADING WITH THE INDIANS. 



•^ 



Part VIIL 



Biographical Sketches 



OF 



DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS \\ TEXAS. 



27 



BIOGRAPHIES. 



Allen, Ebenezer— A native of Maine ; came to Texas during the Republic, 
and was Secretary of State under Jones' administration; Attorney-General 
under both Lamar's and Houston's second administrations, and filled the 
same office in the State, under Bell's administration. He was one of the 
earliest advocates of Texas railroads ; and was one of the projectors and 
early managers of the Texas Central. He died in Virginia in 1863. He 
was then in the Confederate service ; engaged in the torpedo business. 

Allens, of Houston— Five brothers of this name have been residents of 
the city of Houston. A. C. and J. K. Allen came to Texas in 1832, and in 
1836 bought a league of land on Buffalo Bayou and laid out the city of 
Houston. J. K. Allen died in 1838. A. C. Alien was Inspector of Customs 
on the Rio Grande, in 1849, and died in 1863. In 1836, three other brothers 
settled in Houston. Harvey H. Allen filled the office of Chief Justice of 
Harris county, and died in 1862. For more than forty years Samuel L. and 
H. R. Allen have been enterprising citizens of Houston. The latter, in 1870, 
represented Harris county in the Legislature. 

Allen, J. M.— Born in Kentucky. At an early age, he entered the United 
States navy ; left it to engage in the Greek revolution, and was with Lord 
Byron when ho died atMissolongi, on the 12th of April, 1821; returned to 
to his native land in time to enlist in the unfortunate expedition to Tampico, 
in 1835; he escaped; came to Texas and commanded a cavalry company at 
the battle of San Jacinto. He was the first Mayor of Galveston, an office to 
which he was repeatedly re-elected. After annexation he was appointed 
United States Marshal, an office he held when he died, February 12, 1847. 

Almonte, Don Juan N.— A natural son of the patriot priest, Morelos. 
Foote gives the origin of the name as follows: " Morelos was at the head 
of his troops one day, when an infant, (whose birth was thus uncermoni- 
ously made known to him,) was brought into his sight by the mother. ' Al 
montel Almonte,— to the mountain with the brat!' and Almonte was 
thenceforth his name." When the Republicans sent Herrera and Bean to 
the United States as diplomatic agents, Morelos sent young Almonte with 
them to be educated at an Americau college. The death of his father soon 
afterwards deprived Almonte of the means of prosecuting his studies, and 
he became a clerk in a hardware store in New Orleans. After the triumph 
of the Republicans in Mexico, in 1821, Almonte left Nacogdoches with 



478 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Bernardo Gutierres, who had been appointed Governor of Tamaiilipas. 
Leaving Bernardo on the Rio Grande, Almonte went on to tlie city of 
Mexico to push his fortunes. He attached himself to Santa Anna, whose 
star was then in the ascendant. In 1834 his chief sent him to Texas, where 
he spent several months making observations on the country and its inhabi- 
tants. Most of the time he was with Colonel Bean, the old friend of his 
father. When he returned to INIexico he made a report which furnishes us 
the best data we have as to the population and resources of Texas at that 
time. In 1836, Almonte was Santa Anna's private secretary and confidential 
adviser. After the re-establishment of Mexican authority, Almonte was to 
run the boundary between Texas and the United States, and then he was to 
be the Governor. General Rusk gives this account of Almonte's surrender 
at San Jacinto: " At the close of the tight, and just after sundown, Colo- 
nel Almonte came out of the woods with about 250 men. There were at 
that place not exceeding ten or fifteen Americans ; and none of them could 
speak the Mexican language well. The prisoners were asked if they could 
speak English? Almonte answered in Spanish that they could not. They 
were then told in Spanish to form two and two deep and march with us to 
camp. They formed and commenced marching accordingly. Our few men 
wex*e distributed around them as a guard'. Most of us were very much 
fatigued, and such was the condition of the Mexicans, also. As we pro- 
ceeded in this way, one of our men, who was so tired he could hardly walk, 
being incommoded by a Mexican who had dropped out of the line, cursed 
and threatened him in a very rough man;ier in English. This threat was 
immediately repeated to the Mexican in Spanish. I concluded that he, at 
least, must undei'stand English very well, and that it was probably Almonte 
whom I saw before me. I therefore observed so him, ' you must be Colonel 
Almonte;' he replied in English, * You speak well.' I then rode up to him 
and gave him my hand, saying to him, ' It afibrds me great pleasure to see 
you Colonel.' With great presence of mind and his customary politeness he 
responded, ' The pleasure is reciprocated.' " In the estimation of Almonte, 
defeat was not an extraordinary event in the life of a soldier of fortune. 
He conversed freely and without reseiwe with those Texans whose acquaint- 
ance he had formed two years before. There is no doubt but that his philo- 
sophic and cheerful temper had its effect upon the Texans, and reconciled 
them to the measures of the President and Cabinet in sparing the lives of 
Santa Anna and his officers. 

In 1840 Almonte was Minister of War under Bustemente, and was 
instrumental in suppressing a rebellion inaugurated by his former friend 
Urrea. After Bustemente's overthrow, Almonte for a while supported 
himself by lecturing. On the return of Santa Anua to power, Almonte 
was sent as Minister to the United States. AVhen Congress passed the bill 
for the annexation of Texas, Almonte denounced it and demanded his pass 
ports. He said " that America had committed the most unjust act recorded 
in history." In 1846 he was Minister to Great Britain; 1853 to the United 
States; 1856 again to Great Britain. In 1862, near Cordova, he pronounced 
in favor of tlie French; in 1863 he Avas head of the French Executive Coun- 
cil in Mexico; and in 1865 a member of the imperial household of Maxi- 



BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT MEN. 479 

millian. At the downfall of the Empire he sought refuge in France, where 
he died in 1869. 

Anderson, Kenneth L. — Was Vice-President of the Kepublic in Jones' 
administration. He was a prominent candidate for Governor in 1845, and 
while making the canvass, was taken ill and died at Fantharps, in Ander- 
son, Grimes county. Mr. Anderson was an eminent lawyer, and was 
a law partner of Thomas J. Rusk and J. Pinckney Henderson, at Nacog- 
doches. 

Archer, Dr. Branch Tanner. — Was a native of Virginia, and served a 
term in the Legislature of that State. He was in correspondence with 
Aaron Burr, and intended engaging in Burr's expedition, if that had not 
been broken up. After engaging in a duel in which his antagonist fell, he 
came to Texas. This was in 1831. He was soon afterwards sent with 
Geo. B. M'Kinstry to Anahuac, to remonstrate with Bradburn against the 
closing of the ports of Texas. Bradburn rescinded the order. He repre- 
sented Brazoria county in the Convention of 1833 and also in the Consulta- 
tion in 1835. He was President of the latter body, and after its 
adjournment, went as one of the Commissioners to the United States. He 
was Secretary of War during Lamar's administration and died at Mrs. 
Wharton's, in Brazoria county, September 22, 1856. 

Arredondo, Joaquin De — Was in early life a staunch Loyalist, In 
1811 he captured Hidalgo; in 1813 he defeated Toledo and Perry in the 
battle of Medina, near San Antonio. In 1817, he captured and shot the 
unfortunate Mina, and his soldiers defeated and killed Perry at Goliad. 
The one redeeming trait in his character with Texans is the fact that he 
cordially entered into Austin's colonization scheme when he was com- 
mander of the eastern internal provinces, in 1819. 

Austin, Moses — Was a native of Connecticut. When but twehty years 
of age, he married Miss Maria Brown, of Philadelphia, and soon after- 
ward, in conjunction with his brother Stephen, entered into the mercantile 
business in Richmond, Virginia. They subsequently purchased the lead 
mines called Chessel's Mines, on New river, AVythe county, to which they 
removed, and established a regular system for smelting shot. There 
Stephen F. Austin and his sister Emily were born. This enterprise not 
proving entirely satisfactory, Moses Austin, having heard favorable 
reports of the lead mines in Missouri, determined to remove there, and 
through the influence of Baron Carondelet, then Governor of Louisiana, 
he secured a grant of the lead mines of Polosi, forty miles west of St. 
Genevieve. Having procured from the Spanish Consul the necessaiy pass- 
ports, he started witli his family on the untried route of travel. He crossed 
the mountains of Virginia and descended the Kanawha river into the 
Great West, on the last year of the last century, and laid the foundation of 
a settlement in what is now Washington county, Missousi. He opened 
the mine, put up the necessary machinery, and for a while carried on an 
-extensive and lucrative business. At his residence, known as Durham 



480 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

Hall, he dispensed a generous hospitality. The failure of the Bank of 
Missouri involved Mr. Austin in serious pecuniary embarrassments; but 
instead of givini,^ up to despondency, this only served to rouse him to still 
grander enterprises. He formed the project of planting a colony of Anglo- 
Americans in the Spanish province of Texas. To make the necessary 
arrangements, Austin, in the fall of 1820, visited San Antonio, the capital 
of the province. He was coldly received by the Governor, and ordered to 
leave the province under pain of imprisonment. This was discouraging, 
but as he walked out of the Governor's office, he providentially met Baron 
De Bastrop, with whom he had been previously acquainted. Through 
De Bastrop's influence, Gov. Martinez was induced to give Austin a more 
favorable notice. Austin had become a Spanish subject when that country 
owned Louisiana in 1798, and of course the law against foreigners did not 
apply in his case. Through the same influence of De Bastrop^ the members 
of the Ayuntaimento signed a petition to the commander of the eastern 
internal provinces at Montei'ey, praying that functionary to grant Austin's 
request, and permit him to introduce three hundred families into Texas. 
At that time, the country from the Sabine river to San Antonio was an 
uninhabited wilderness, the Gachupin war having depopulated the pro- 
vince. Mr. Kennedy says, that when Austin was two hundred miles from 
any settlement, he was robbed and deserted by his companions. Subsist- 
ing on acorns and nuts, he made his way eastward, and finallj'^, in an 
enfeebled and exhausted condition, reached M'Goffin's settlement on the 
Sabine river. After resting a short time, he proceeded to his Missouri 
home. He did not doubt the success of his application, and in the spring 
of 1821, commenced making active preparations to remove to Texas. But 
a cold had settled on his lungs, and he continued rapidly to decline; and 
died at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. James Bryan, June 10th. 
" Moses Austin," says Lamar, " maintained a reputation ft-ee fi'om the 
suspicion of dishonor. His energy, disappointment could not dampen, 
nor misfortune subdue." A few days before his death, he received intelli- 
gence of fhe success of his application to the Spanish authorities, and he 
left an injunction to his son, Stephen F. Austin, to carry out his scheme for 
the Texas colony. 

Austin, Stephen Fuller — was born in Austinsville, Wythe Co , Virginia, 
November 3d, 1793. When but six years of age, his father's family moved 
to Missouri. After spending four years at an academy in New London, 
Connecticut, he comi)leted his education at Transylvania University, in 
Kentucky. At the organization of Missouri into a territory, in 1S18, Mr. 
Austin was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature. The next year 
he removed to tlie Territory of Arkansas, and was immediately appointed 
a circuit juiige ; an office he held until he resigned it to engage in the great 
providential work of his life, that of planting a colony in Texas. Indeed 
his settlement on Red Kiver was with a view of opening a plantation to 
raise corn and other supi)lies for the colonists on their Avay to Texas. He 
was in New Orleans making preliminary arrangements, when he heard of 
the arrival at Natchitoches of Messrs. Seguin and Veramendi, the commis- 
sioners sent on to conduct Moses Austin to his colonial grant. Stephen 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 481 

started at once to meet these gentlemen. At Natchitoches he heard'of his 
father's death, and he at once determined to carry forward the colonial en- 
terprise. With the commissioners and fourteen companions, he left Nachi- 
toches, for San Antonio, July 6th, 1821. The names of Austin's companions 
were Edward Lovelace, Neil Casper, Henry Holstein, William Little, Joseph 
Polly, James Beard, William Wilson, James Hewitson, (afterwai-ds an 
Empresario,) W. Smithers, and Messrs. Belew, Beard, Marple, Barre and 
Erwine. Austin was cordially received by Governor Martinez, and, after 
exploring the country, selected the rich bottom lands of the Colorado and 
Brazos rivers upon which to plant his colony. He immediately returned to 
New Orleans to perfect his plans. 

Schooner Lively Lost. — Mr. Austin's means were limited, but he found 
a friend in Joseph H. Hawkins, Esq., a former school-mate at Transylva- 
nia. Mr. Austin, on the 14th of November, 1821, acknowledged the re- 
ceipt of $4,000, and agreed to convey to Hawkins one-half of the lands and 
town lots which the empresario should receive. (See contract in Life and 
Events, page 31.) With the money thus secured, Mr. Austin purchased 
the schooner Lively, and placed on board a supply of provisions and agi'i- 
cultural implements. With eighteen persons on board, she sailed from 
New Orleans for the mouth of the Colorado Eiver, November 20, 1821, and 
was never heai'd of afterward. 

Austin's Second Trip. — The same day the Lively sailed, Austin started 
a second time to Texas by land. At Natchitoches he was joined by ten 
companions; among them Mr. Kan. Foster, of Fort Bend County, was the 
hunter of the party. This company crossed the Brazos River on the last 
day of the year, and camped on the bank of a creek, which they, the next 
morning, named New Year's Creek. Mr. Austin hastened to the coast, 
where he waited for weeks for the appearance of the schooner. She was 
finally given up for lost, and he started for San Antonio. On his way to 
the city he met his brother, James Brown Austin, and the two went to- 
gether to San Antonio. 

Austin in Mexico. — In the period which intervened since Moses Austin 
obtained his empresario grant, Mexico had thrown off the Spanish yoke 
and become a Republic. At San Antonio, Austin learned that it would be 
necessary to visit the City of Mexico to obtain a confirmation of his grant. 
He started with only two companions. They were intercepted on the 
Nueces River by a band of forty-four Comanche Indians. Fortunately the 
Indians were then at peace with the United States, though warring with 
Mexico. When they found out that Austin was an American, he was released 
and allowed to proceed upon his journey. From Monterey Austin had but 
a single companion, Capt. Lorenzo Christy who had been in Miua's expedi- 
tion. To avoid being robbed, both were disguised, and appeared like very 
poor travelers. They reached the City of Mexico April 10th, 1822, Such 
was the unsettled condition of the country, ruled alternately by different 
factions, that Austin made but slow progress in his business. Finally, at the 
end of eight months he secured the passage of the general Colonization 
Law. This law was very generous, giving to each family a league of land 
for grazing purposes, and a labor of bottom land for cultivating. It also 



482 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

made a liberal grant to the empresario who introduced the colonists. Fi- 
nally, after a year's detention, Austin started back to Texas. He had ac- 
quired a knowledge of the language and institutions, which was of great 
value in his subsequent negotiations with the government. At Monterey, 
he was kindly received by the commandant, Philip De La Garza, and by 
the " deputacion," who invested him with ample authority to introduce his 
colonists, give them their land, and administer civil government. 

State of the Colony. — Austin's long absence had a somewhat depressing 
influence upon his colonists, some of whoni had abandoned the country ; 
others had stopped in East Texas, and all felt insecure. His return, how- 
ever, with a confirmation of all his authority, and with the Baron de Bas- 
trop, who had been appointed Land Commissioner, soon changed the aspect 
of aflairSo The town of San Felipe de Austin was laid out, and the land 
office opened and titles to their lands promptly issued to the settlers. Aus- 
tin displayed admirable talents for his responsible position. His zeal for 
his colonists knew no bounds. As a legislator he prepared an admirable 
code of laws ; and as the father and founder of the colony, he selected de- 
sirable homes for the immigrants, and gave them all practical assistance in 
preparing their houses and opening their farms. Combining in himself the 
functions of civil governor, military commander and judge of the court, he 
administered all departments with equal skill and fidelity. The colony 
prospered, immigrants continued to flock in, and during the year 1824 he 
had settled in the new colony the three hundred families required by his 
first contract. 

Other Contracts. — Under the general Colonization Law, Austin, in 1825, 
entered into a second contract for the introduction of five hundred fami- 
lies, and in 1827 he took a third, for one hundred families, to be located 
above the San Antonio road, in Bastrop, Travis and Williamson Counties. 
Heretofore the coast leagues had been reserved from location, but in 1828 
Austin took a contract to introduce three hundred families and place them 
on these littoral leagues. Of all the empresarios, Austin was the only one 
who was really successful in planting his colonies and fulfilling his contracts ; 
and his success, considering the obstacles in his way, was remarkable. A 
report made to the Texas Senate by Austin's executor, James F. Perry, in 
1837, states that he introduced in all 1,540 colonists, of whom 970 had re- 
ceived titles to their land before the laud office was closed in 1835. 

Austin and the Fredonians. — The part which Austin took in the troubles 
at Nacogdoches, in 1826-'7, has excited a good deal of comment and some 
severe criticism. Edwards had been badly treated ; of that there can be but 
one opinion ; but he and his friends acted hastily in unfurHng the banner of 
Fi'edonia. They certainly should have consulted Austin and Bastrop and 
the people of the center of the colony, if they expected their co-operation. 
It has been assumed by most wi'iters that at first Austin hesitated as to the 
course to be pursued. Foote intimates as much. But Foote was a warm 
personal friend of the Edwardses, with whom he unquestionably sympa- 
thized. Still, even he offijrs this excuse for Austin, " who," says Foote, 
'•'was unwilling to plunge into a Avar with a nation numbering 8,000,000 in- 
habitants. Entertaining such views, it is not at all astonishing that he 




RICHARD COKE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 485 

heard with deep regret of the revolt in Edwards' colony." In such a con- 
troversy, neutrality was impossible, and he did not attempt to occupy such 
a position. On the 22d of January, 1827, Austin issued the following ad- 
dress: 
"To the Inhabitants of the Colony: 

'•The persons who were sent on from this colony hy the Political Chief and 
Military Commandant to offer peace to the Nacogdoches madmen have re- 
turned — returned without having effected anything. Tlie olive branch of 
peace wliich was held out to them has been insultingly refused, and that party 
have denounced massacre and desolation on this colony. They are trying 
to excite all the northern Indians to murder and plunder, and it appears as 
though they have no other object than to ruin and plunder this country. 
They openly threaten us with Indian massacre and the plunder of our prop- 
erty. * * * To arms then, my friends and fellow-citizens, and hasten 
to the standard of our country. 

*• The first hundred men will march on the 26th. Necessary orders for 
mustering and other purposes will be issued to commanding officers. Union 
and Mexico. <'S. F. Adsiin." 

Austin's course in this matter received the approval of his cotemporaries, 
and history will doubtless pronounce a similar verdict. Judge Burnet says: 
*' It was quite inevitable, without supposin gAustin an infatuated visionary, 
which he was not, that he should promptly unite with his lawful chief in sup- 
pressing an insurrection so wild and impracticable," On the same point 
Judge Bell says: " This Fredonian disturbance has been little understood, 
and when the details of it are made known it will be seen that the move- 
ment could lay no just claim to be considered as an honorable and praise- 
worthy effort in the cause of freedom and right, and that Austin's course in 
reference to it was the only one that a man of sense and honor could pur- 
sue." 

Austin in Congress. — During the eventful years 1831 and 1832, Austin was 
at Saltillo, representing Texas in the Legislature of Coahuila and Texas. 
He did not therefore participate in the events which resulted in the capture 
of the Mexican garrisons at Anahuac, at Velasco, and at Nacogdoches. As 
soon as news of these transactions reachfd him, he hurried home. He came 
by water from the mouth of the Eio Grande, and was accompanied by 
General Mexia, who had been sent out by Santa Anna to secure the adhe- 
sion of Texas to the (so-called) Republican party, of which Sauta Anna was 
then the champion. Their rallying cry was the Constitution of 1824. At 
a, meeting of citizens of the colony, at Turtle Bayou, on the 13th of June, 
they had, with entire unanimity, upheld it. Austin was welcomed back by 
the people with every demonstration of joy, with balls, speeches, firing of 
cannon, etc., at the mouth of the Brazos, Brazoria, and especially at San 
Fehpe. Six miles below the lotter place he was met by a military company, 
under Lieutenat Gray, and escorted into town, where he was received and 
addressed by Wm. II. Jack, Esq , in behalf of his fellow-citizens, 

" Sucli a boon then," says Col. Jack, " as is due to him who has faithfully 
discharged his duties, we grant to you, wifh an assurance that the man 
whom the people have delighted to honor, siill has our most unbounded 



486 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

confluence. The occasion of your most unexpected return to Texas "will 
lo'ii; be remembered. The present is an epoch in the political affiiirs of our 
country on which the pen of the historian will dwell with peculiar pleas- 
ure. In conclusion, I cannot, perhaps, better express my own feelings and 
those of our common countrymen than by saying, Well done, good and 
faithfal servant; thou art welcome, thrice welcome to thy home and to thy 
frien Is ; and may health and happiness always attend thee ! " 

This was a proud day to the father and founder of Texas. Austin re- 
plied in a happy speech, and was then received by the Mexican soldiers who 
had surrendered with Ugartechea at Velasco. These soldiers fraternized 
with the colonists. After these speeches, all sat down to a sumptuous ban- 
quet ; speeches were delivered, cannon fired, toasts drank, and there was 
every demonstration of public joy 

Commissioner to Mexico. — Austin was not long permitted to remain at 
home. The great desire of the Texaus now was to have a separate State 
government. The province had been temporarily attached to Coahuila. 
The population was now sufficiently large to form a State. In April, 1833^ 
a Cpnvention met at San Felipe, to form a State Constitution to present to 
the National Government. A memorial was drawn up, urging the neces- 
sity of erecting Texas into a State. Three commissioners were selected to 
carry the constitution and memorial to the city of Mexico. Austin was 
the only one who undertook tlie long journey. When he arrived at the 
National Capital he found the country in a state of feverish political excite- 
ment. Santa Anna had succeeded Pedraza as President, and was rapidly 
developing his plans for a purely personal and consolidated government. 
Moreover, the captiire of the troops by the colonists in Texas had thrown 
suspicion upon the loyalty of the Anglo-American colonists. Under these 
circumstances, Austin had no easy task before him. While all parties were 
willing to trust the commissioner, they distrusted his constituents, and 
could not permit the liberty-loving, self-reliant colonists of Texas to have 
a government of their own and in their own hands. The better to carry 
out his purposes of self-aggrandizement, Santa Anna had retired to his 
hacienda, leaving Vice-President Farias to administer the government. 
Austin's papers were presented to Congress and referred to a committee. 
In the mean time, in addition to political troubles, the city sutfered from a 
fearful visitation of cholera. During the long and vexatious delay, Austin 
became somewhat impatient, and urged his suit with such importunity that 
Farias became offended. Seeing no immediate prospect of obtaining his 
request, Austin, in one of his letters to the citizens of San Antonio, advised 
them to form a de facto government, under a provision of the Constitution 
of 1824. Finally, on the 10th of December, 1833, Austin started for his 
home. But some one in San Antonio had sent a copy of his letter back to 
Farias. That suspicious officer thought he detected treason in the epistle, 
and immediately dispatched a messenger for Austin's arrest. He was over- 
taken at Saltillo, carried back to the city, and thrown into a dungeon, 
where for a time he was oven deprived of his books and papers, and pen 
and ink. 

Austin in Prison. — What gave Farias mortal offense, was a sentence in 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 487 

Austin's letter which recommended that " All the municipalities should 
come without delay to an understanding — organizing a local government 
for Texas as a State of the Mexican Confederation, under the law of the 
7th of May, 1824." And he added in his letter to the municipality of 
Bexar, '' I trust you will lose no time in addressing a communication to 
every corporation, exhorting them to concur in the organization of a local 
government, independent of Coahuila, even should, the Supreme Govern- 
ment of Mexico refuse its consent." 

During his imprisonment, Austin was visited by his old friend. Father 
Muldoon, a priest who had ministered to Austin's colonists. Muldoon fur- 
nished him with a blank memorandum book and a pencil. With this the 
prisoner whiled away his lonely hours. In these musings we see the 
character of the man. We make some exti'acts : " In my tirst exploring 
trip in Texas, in 1821, 1 had a very good old man with me, who had been 
raised on the frontier, and was a very good hunter. We had not been 
many days in the wilderness, before he told me, ' You are too impatient to 
make a hunter.' Scarcely a day passed that he did not say to me, * You 
are too impatient — you wish to go too fast.' Before my trip was ended, I 
saw the benetit of his maxim, and I determined to adopt it as a rule in 
settling' the colony which I was then about to commence in Texas. Some 
have accused me of adhering to this rule and. to a system of conciliation 
with too much obstinancy. I do not think I have ; though perhaps, I am 
not a competent judge. I can, however, say, that I believe the greatest 
error I ever committed was in departing from that rule as I did in the city 
of Mexico, in October, 1833. I lost patience at the delays in getting the 
business of the people of Texas dispatched, and in a moment of impatience, 
wrote an imprudent and perhaps an intemperate letter to the Aj'untamiento 
of Bexar. This was October 2d. 

" I can say with truth that a combination of circumstances occurred about 
that time to make me impatient ; and my intentions were pure and patriotic, 
as a Mexican citizen. I had every reason to believe that the people of Texas 
would not suffer the month of November to pass without organizing a local 
government, and in that event, it is very evident that it would have beeu 
much better to organize a harmonious consultation of the respective local 
authorities of the municipalities, than by a popular commotion. The cir- 
cumstances of the case, and the purity of my intentions, are certainly 
worthy of consideration. Texas, when I left in April, was almost in a- 
state of nature, as to its local government ; it was in danger of anarchy, on 
the one hand, and of being destroyed by the uncivilized and hostile Indians, 
on the other. These things crazed me, and I lost patience." While these 
reflections show that Colonel Austin was in a depressed state of mind, and 
a little disposed to blame himself unnecessarily, they reveal the singular 
purity and strict conscientiojisness of the man. 

We add another short extract from the sad record of his prison musi)igs. 
It is dated Sunday, February 23d, 1831: ''Philanthropy is but another 
name for trouble. I have labored with pure intentions to benefit others, 
and especially to advance and im])rove mv adopted country, ai-.d what have 
I gained? Enemies, persecutions, imprisonment: accused of ingratitude to 



488 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Mexico, which is the most unjust of all accusations that could possibly be 
bi'ought against me. If I have been ungrateful to any one, it is to myself 
and family, for I have neglected my own and their interests to labor for 
others. My poor sister, who removed to the wilderness of Texas with her 
large family, owing to my solicitations ; and left a comfortable home and a 
large circle of warm and kind friends. My poor sister ! How she is suffer- 
ing on my account! How happy I could have been on a farm alongside of 
my brother-in-law, free from all the cares and difficulties that now surround 
me ! But I thought it was my duty to obey the call of the people and go to 
Mexico as their agent. I have sacrificed myself to serve them, and in all 
probability the only return I shall receive will be abuse and ingratitude. 
It is horrible that I should have lived to find myself on the verge of misan- 
thropy — soured and disgusted with mankind." But we have given enough 
from the sad I'ecord of Austin's prison life. 

The imprisonment of their empresario and commissioner produced a pro- 
found impression in Texas. On the 28th of April the Ayuntairaento of San 
Felipe, K. M. Williamson, Chairman, and W. B. Travis, Secretary, pre- 
pared and sent to Mexico a long memorial, praying for his release. The 
other municipalities adopted similar measures, and Peter "VY. Grayson and 
Spencer H. Jack were selected to carry these petitions to Mexico. 'Though 
they did not secure Austin's release, these proceedings afforded him great 
satisfaction, as showing the interest felt for him in Texas. 

On the 12th of June, 1834, Austin's condition was somewhat improved, 
as he was transferred to more comfortable quai'ters. There was some 
talk of trying him for treason, and he earnestly desired to have his case 
judicially investigated, but he could find no court of competent jurisdiction. 
The judges all refused to have anjthing to do with the case. They knew 
that there were no reaJ charges against him, and that his imprisonment was 
wholly unwarranted. 

Austin's Enemies at Home. — Writing from his prison on the 25th of 
August, Austin alludes to certain plotters in Texas, of whom it is painful 
to speak. We would remain silent, but the truth of history requires expo- 
sure. He says: 

'< President Santa Anna is friendly to Texas, and to me, (of this I have 
no doubt,) and would have set me at liberty long since ; and in fact, issued 
an order to that eff"ect in June, had not some statements arrived about that 
time fi'om the State Government of Coahuila and Texas against me ; which 
I understand, have contributed to keep me in prison so long. It is said the 
report is founded solely on the statement of some influential persons who 
live in Texas. Who these persons are I know not. It is nffirmed they are 
North Americans by birth, and I am told if I am not imprisoned for life and 
totally ruined in property and reputation, it will not be lor want of exertion 
and industry on the part of some of my countrymen who live in Texas. 
Whether all this be true, I know not. I know I am unwilling to believe it. 
I am also told that no efforts were left untried last winter and spring to 
p)-ejudice the members of the Legislature and State Government against 
me at Monclova, last winter." The persecutions to which Austin in this 
letter alludes were originated and carried out by a merciless party of laud 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 489 

sharks who had flocked to Monclova. That corrupt Legislature sold or gave 
away to these men eight hundred leagues of land. They well knew that if 
Austin were at liberty he would expose their rascality. He had already 
mortally otfended one of this party by prohibiting him from locating some 
eleven-league claims on the best unoccupied land in his colony. Austin was 
determined that the good land should be reserved for bona fide settlers. In 
a letter to D. C. Barrett, Esq., in 1835, Mr. Austin, alluding to these trans- 
actions in Texas lands, says: " In 1833 thirty square leagues of land were 
voted by the State Legislature to a young man, (who had previously received 
a grant of eleven leagues,) as pay for one year's salary as judge ! Some 
eight hundred square leagues wei'e sold by these legislators in 1834 and 
1835, to speculators, principally foreigners, and to themselves; for the same 
legislators who passed the law, for a part of this sale, were purchasers at 
from fifty to seventy-five and a hundred dollars per square league." It is no 
wonder that such a class of unmitigated scoundrels wanted so incorruptible 
a man as Austin kept out of*the way, even if he languished in a Mexican 
prison. What made them more anxious on the subject was the fact that 
Austin while in prison had been re-elected to the Legislature. It was well 
known that if he appeared and took his seat in tlie Legislatui'e, all these 
plundering schemes would be at once exposed and defeated. 

We again quote from his letter to Barrett : *' At one time I am villified 
for being too Mexican ; too much the friend of Mexicans ; too confiding in 
them. At another I am abused for yielding to the popular opinion, and 
for representing that opinion in good fiiith." Those familiar with the his- 
tory of those times and men cannot doubt that Austin was truly loyal to his 
adopted country, and faithful to the interests of his colony; but he shared 
the fate of most conservatives ; he incurred the hatred of extreme men of 
all parties. 

His Welcome Home. — Finally, after an absence of two years and four 
months, Austin was permitted to return to Texas, about the first of Sep- 
tember, 1835. On the eighth, at a meeting of about a thousand of the 
citizens, Austin said: *'. I cannot refrain from returning my unfeigned 
thanks for the flattering sentiment with which I have just been honored, 
nor have I words to express my satisfaction on returning to this, my more 
than native country, and meeting so many of my friends and companions 
in its settlement. I left Texas in April, 1833, as the public agent of the 
people for the purpose of applying for the admission of this country into 
the Mexican Confederation as a State separate from Coahuila. This appli- 
cation was based upon the constitutional and vested rights of Texas, and 
was sustained by me in the city of Mexico to the utmost of my abilities. 
No honorable means were spared to effect the objects of my mission, and to 
oppose the forming of Texas into a Territory, which was attempted. I rig- 
idly adhered to the instructions and wishes of my constituents, so far as 
they were enumerated to me. My efforts to serve Texas involved me in 
the labyrinth of Mexican politics. I was arrested and have sufl^ered a long 
imprisonment. I consider it my duty to give an account of these events to 
my constituents, and will therefore, at this time merely observe that I have 
never, in any manner, agreed to anything that would compromise the 



490 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

constitutional or vested rights of Texas. These rights belong to the peo- 
ple, and can only be surrendered by them. * * * * "ji^g revolution in 
Mexico is drawing to a close. The object is to change the form of govern- 
ment, destroy the Federal Constitution of 1824, and establish a consolida 
ted government. The States are to be converted into provinces. * * * 
With these explanatory remarks, I will give as a toast, * The Constitution- 
al rights and the security and peace of Texas ; they ought to be maintained ; 
and jeopardized as they now are, they demand a general consultation of 
the people.' " 

In reference to this reception, Yoakum says: " The old pioneers who had 
come with Austin to the country gathered around and received him as one 
risen from the dead. Such demonstrations of regard were fully reciproca- 
ted by Austin. He was a genial lover of his race, and especially of those 
to whose happiness he had devoted the best energies of his life. If there 
was any one desire nearer to his heart than any other, it was to see his col- 
ony prosper. He was greatly distressed to find Texas in her unsettled con- 
dition. " I had hoped," said he, '* to have found her in peace and tranquil- 
ity, but regret to find commotion; all disorganized, all in anarchy, and 
threatened Avith immediate hostilities." This state of things was mostly 
due to the revolution in the Siamese-twin-sister State ot Coahuila; where 
there were then two capitals and two rival governors. As Texas recog- 
nized neither of these governors, she was without an established civil gov- 
ernment. However, by common consent, San Felipe was looked upon as 
the capital of the Province, and the committee of safety which had been 
organized there was expected to give a general direction to public affairs. 
Austin was at once elected chairman of this committee or council. 

Austin Commander of the Army. — The volunteers who had repulsed 
Ca<5tenado at Gonzales were still in camp ou the Guadalupe river, but 
witliout any recognized leader; nor could any man in camp harmonize the 
conflicting elements. Under these circumstances, some of the most prom- 
inent men, including Grayson, Dr. Miller, P. C. Jack, and othes, wrote to 
San Felipe requesting that Austin be sent out as commander. To this the 
committee assented, and Austin started immediately for headquarters. 
On his arrival, the volunteers by acclamation elected him as their com- 
mander.* 

The new commander promptly reorganized the army and started for San 
Antonio. He reached the Mission La Espada on the 20th of October. 
Wishing to approach nearer the city, on the 27th he sent forward a i*econ- 
noitering party of about ninety men, under Colonels Fannin and Bowie. 
Tills party fought the battle of Concepcion on the 28th. On the 2d of No- 
vember, Austin moved up nearer aud prepared for a close investment of the 



*The following gentlemen constituted his staff: "Warren D. C. Hall, Adjutant aud 
Inspector-General; David B. Macomb, Assistant Inspector; William H. Wliarton^ 
Judge Advocate; W. P. Smith, Surgeon-lieneral; Patrick C. Jack, Quartermaster- 
General; Valentine Bennett, Assistant Quartermaster; Peter W. Grayson, and William 
T. Austin, Aids-de-camp. Moses Austin Bryan was his Private Secretary. John H. 
Moore was elected Colonel; Edward Biirlfson, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Alexander 
Somervell, Major. William H. Jack was appointed Brigade Inspector. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 491 

city. Occasional skirmishes toolj: place, and the fight known as the " Grass 
Fight," occurred on the 26th of November. 

Commissioner to the United States.— Two days after the Grass Fight, 
Austin was officially notified that it was the wish of the Executive Council 
that he should go to the United States as one of the commissioners to 
secure funds to aid the cause of Texas. He immediately resigned the com- 
mand of the army. In presenting his commission, the Council also gave 
him a very flattering compliment, and commeudefl him to the people of the 
United States as " one in whose aid we repose the strongest hopes in our 
present struggle for freedom and existence, and that we extend to him the 
hand of parting love and greeting, with hopes of his success and speedy 
return to the bosom of his grateful countrymen." This mission was a dif- 
ficult and delicate one. Texas had not at that time declared her independ- 
ence. The aim, at first, was for a Provi-nce still owing allegiance to Mexico. 
The commissioners met with greater success than they could have antici- 
pated. " General Austin," says Yoakum, " was particularly successful. His 
long service in Texas, and his known truthfulness and simplicity of char- 
acter, gave great weight to what he said. His address at Louisville, which 
was widely published, presented the claims of Texas upon the civilized 
world for sympathy and aid in such a manner as to bring her both." It is 
stated that he pledged his private fortune for the repayment of the loans 
advanced in the cause of the country. 

On the 9th of May, 1836, he left Washington City on his return to Texas. 
When he arrived he found the country very much excited over the contem- 
plated release of Santa Anna. The captive President had great confidence 
in Austin, and in a private interview requested him to use his influence to 
secure the friendly offices of General Jackson as a mediator to secure Santa 
Anna's release. Austin wrote to Jackson, and also wrote to General 
Gaines, suggesting the propriety of the latter removing his headquarters to 
Nacogdoches, to overaAve the Indians. With this request General Gaines 
complied, but he was soon ordered back east of the Sabine. 

A Candidate for President .—Soon after Austin returned. President 
Burnet issued his proclamation for a general election. Austin's friends 
urged him to become a candidate for the Presidency. To this general call 
he responded: ''Influenced by the great governing principle that has 
governed my actions since I came to Texas, which is to serve this country 
in any capacity in which the people might see proper to employ me, I shall 
not decline tiie highly responsible and difficult one now proposed, should 
the majority of my fellow citizens elect me." As the canvass proceeded, 
party spirit ran high, and the most absurd charges were openly made or 
secretly insinuated against Gen. Austin. These charges, though ground- 
less, aflecl;ed the people ; especially those who had recently immigrated to 
the country, and were personally unacquainted with the empresario. And 
they deeply grieved his sensitive nature. In a letter to Gail Borden, pub- 
lished in the Texas Telegrajyh, he replied at length to these charges. After 
showing their absurdity, he says : " The people ought to be competent to 
analyze these matters and judge for themselves. They are, however, liable 
to be misled by wrong impressions, but will do justice in the end, and I 



492 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

assure you that it will be no personal mortification to me individually, if I 
am not elected, while such erroneous impressions exist. I have one proud 
consolation which nothing can deprive me of, and that is the approbation of 
my own conscience, and the certainty that all I have done since I came ta 
Texas, in 1821, will bear the test of the most rigid scrutiny. I do not pre 
tend by this to say that I have not erred in judgment, and perhaps, from 
imprudent counsel, but I do say, that no man has labored with purer inten- 
tions, or with a more ardent and disinterested desire to promote the pros- 
perity and happiness and liberty of Texas ; and I also say, that 1 consented 
to become a candidate at the election with great reluctance. I have been 
absent from Texas, on iiublic business, for about three years. During this 
time my individual affairs have been neglected, and much of the old coloniz- 
ing business remained xmclosed. It was my wish and intention to devote 
this year to these objects, at the same time giving all the aid I could, as a 
citizen, to the public cause." He failed to be elected. The eclat which the 
victory of San Jacinto had given to Houston secured the elevation of that 
gentleman to the Presidential chair of the new Republic. 

Austin Secretary of State. — Under the new order of things Austin be- 
came Secretary of State; and entered immediately upon his duties. A 
prime measure with the Administration was to secure the annexation of 
Texas to the American Union. The people had almost unanimously ap- 
proved that measure at the late election. One of the first acts of the Sec- 
retary was to prepare instructions for the diplomatic agents to be sent to 
Washington. He was a good part of three days, and portions of the nights, 
engaged iu this work. The accommodations for the Government at Colum- 
bia, were very inadequate. The weather was cold, and Austin was com- 
pelled to write in a room without fire. 

His Death and Character. — The exposure in an unfinished and unfur- 
nished room brought on a cold, wiiich was succeeded by an attack of 
pneumonia, of which he died, at the house of George B. M'Kinstry, iu 
Columbia, December 27th, 1836. The following order was immediately 
issued from the War Department: 

*' The father of Texas is no more ! The first pioneer of the wilderness 
has departed ! Stephen F. Austin, Secretary of State, expired this day, at 
half-past twelve o'clock, at Columbia, As a testimony of respect to his 
high standing, undeviating moral rectitude, and as a mark of the Nation's 
gratitude for his untiring and invaluable services, all officers, civil and 
military, are requested to wear crape on the right ai-m for tiie space of thirty 
days. All officers commanding posts, garrisons or detachments, will as 
soon as information is received of this melancholy event, cause 28 guns 
to be fired, with an interval of five minutes between each; and also have 
the garrison and regimental colors hung with black during the space of 
mourning for the illustrious dead. 
" By order of the President. 

" Wm. S. Fisher, Secretary of WarJ^ 

His remains were accompanied by President Houston and his Cabinet, 
both Houses of Congress, and other officers of the Government, to the 
family burying ground, at Peach Point, Brazoria county. His relatives 




RICHARD B. HUBBARD. 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 495 

have placed over-the grave a marble slab bearing this inscription • "General 
Stephen F. Austin, son of Moses and Mary Austin, born 3d ot November 
1793, ill Austinville, State of Virginia. Departed this life on the 27th of 
December, 1836, at Columbia, Eepublic of Texas, aged 43 years, 1 month 
and 24 days." 

General Austin was never married. His home when he came first to 
Texas was with the family of Mr. Castleman, on the Colorado river. After 
the removal of his brother-in-law, Mr. James F. Perry, to the colony his 
home was with his sister at the Peach Point plantation,' in Brazoria countv 
He always regarded his colonists as his family, and labored for their welfare 
with true paternal solicitude and fidelity. No one can study the history of 
his eventful life without forming a high estimate of his great abilities and 
moral worth. We give some extracts showing how those well qualified to 
judge have recorded their appreciation of his character. 

Kennedy says: " We have seen the perils he braved; the obstacles he 
surmounted ; his struggles with the- marauders in the wilderness • his 
sufferings in a Mexican prison ; his duties and entanglements, civil, military 
political and financial. In every period of his career the spirit of order' 
equity, fortitude and perseverance is apparent. Even those who proscribed 
his patriotism paid homage to his personal worth." General Cos, when he 
first entered Texas and found Austin at the head of the insuro-ent force 
addressed him individually in terms of high respect. Colonel Almonte has 
eulogized " the admirable constancy" with which he followed up his enter- 
prise m Texas. For fifteen years did he pursue his object with unwavering 
rectitude and untiring zeal ; and he lived long enough to lay the foundation 
of a flourishing St.-:te amidst the bloodshed and distractions of civil strife 

Ex-President Lamar says: ''The claims of Stephen Austin upon the 
people of Texas were of the strongest kind. He was not onlv the founder 
of our P.epublic, but scarcely a blessing flowed to our country which mav 
not be fairly attributed to his unwearied exertions for its wemire- while 
almost every calamity which has befallen it, might have been averted by 
adhering to his wise and prudent counsels. The world has afforded but 
few examples of superior intelligence and sagacity; and as for disinterested 
and extended philanthropy; his long suffering for the weal of others • his 
patient endurance under persecutions; his benevolent fonnveness of inju- 
ries, and his final sacrifice of health, happiness and life, in the service of 
his country-all conspire to place him without a dval amono- the first of 
patriots and the best of men." 

We conclude this sketch with a paragraph from the pen of Judge James 
H Leil : - When Austin entered the Province .of Texas in the summer of 
lb21, there was but one settlement from the Sabine to San Antonio This 
was Nacogdoches, and he says in his journal, that there we.e in that 
p ace but three unmarried men and one family, when he passed throu-h it 
The sound of the axe had never been heard in the virgin forests of the 
Brazos an<l Colorado. The tall savage roamed the woods and built his 
camp-fire by the crystal stream, without dreaming that the white man was 
coming to plant corn in his hunting grounds. How changed was the scene I 
ihe settlers came, following their young and adventurous leader to where 



496 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the tall cane-brakes attested the land's fertility. They brought with them 
the rifle, the axe, the plough and the seed corn. Soon the smoke ascended 
from a hundred chimneys ; and where before the monarch oaks waved their 
proud branches, like so many scepters, over the subject forest, were now to 
be seen fields of luxuriant corn, yielding ample returns to tlie industry of 
man. Tlie wild beasts of the woods had been driven from their lairs; and 
the wilder men, who strove with bow and spear to drive out the pale faces, 
had been subdued. "When rebellion against the constituted authorities 
which the settlers had sworn to respect, I'aised its banner in a neighboring 
part of the State, Austin called on his colonists to do their duty in main- 
taining tlie laws, and he was promptly told that three hundred good rifles 
would follow him to battle. He might well be pr.)ud of his position and 
his achievments. He might well feel that he had acquired an indisputable 
title to the respect of mankind. And that respect his memory will certain- 
ly receive. Circumstances inseparable from the settlement and growth of 
a new country, and from changes of government, have had the eftect to 
distract the minds of men from inquiry into his character and services. But 
history will one day adorn her page with a delineation of his high and 
spotless character, and with the story of his long, arduous and successful 
services to his countiw. His fame will grow as the State which he founded 
is destined to grow in prosperity and influence. And when the capital 
which bears his name shall have become a proud city, and when all the hills 
that rise around it, and the noble plains that are spread out before it, shall 
wear the splendid and blooming aspect which the plastic hand of art and 
industry creates, then the name of the pioneer who opened the way for 
civilization and for social reflnements to enter where all before was wild 
and rude, and desolate, will have been placed on the bright roll that bears 
to future ages the name-; of the worthies of the past." 

Austin, James Brown. — A younger brother of Stephen, came to Texas 
in 1822. He spent a year in Sau Antonio learning the Spanish language, 
after which he became a merchant and a planter in Brazoria county. In 
partnership with John Austin, he erected the tirst cotton gin-house in Bra- 
zoria county. It was subsequently burned, and the place has been since 
known as the burnt gin place. In 18213 he went to New Orleans to buy 
goods and died of the yellow fever in that city. 

Austin, Henry. — A cousin of the above; was, accoi'ding to the state- 
ment of his sister, Mrs. Holly, in his seventeenth year, the commander of 
an East-India merchantman. He visited Mexico and obtained an emprcs- 
ario contract for introducing colonists on the Rio Grande river. The revo- 
lutionary state of the country interfered with the settlement of his colony, 
and he brought his vessel to the Brazos, and was the first to navigate that 
stream. His boat, the Ariel, was wrecked at Lynchburg. Captain Austin 
settled at Bolivar, Brazoria county. His son, Edward T. Austin, is a prac- 
ticing lawyer in Galveston. 

Austin, John. — Wa^ a native of Xew Haven, Counecti ut. Mrs Holly 
says that when but a youth the spirit of adventure seized him, and he 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 497 

unlisted as a common sailor before the mast. For years his parents had no 
word from him. Being in New Ox-leans when Long was organizing his 
expedition against Mexico, he joined him and was chosen captain of a 
company. Having shared the fate of that unfortunate command, he found 
himself a prisoner in the city of Mexico. It was fortunate for Austin that 
he had formerly been acquainted, at Yale college, with Mr. Poinsett, who 
was then the United States Minister at Mexico Through Austin's intlnence 
with Poinsett Long's men were liberated, and those wlio chose to go w.-^re 
sent to Norfolk, Va., in the ship of war John Adams. S. F. Aus^tin was 
then in Mexico ; the two bearing the same name soon became acquainted, 
and John Austin and B. R. Milam determed to accompany the Empresario 
to his new colony. John Austin became an active and useful citizen. In 
1832 he was elected one of the alcaldes of Brazoria. He was the command- 
3r of the Texans in the battle of Velasco, and to him Colonel Ugartechea 
mrrendered the fort. In giving an account of this battle, subsequently, to 
general Mexia, Austin said. " We are fai-meis and not soldiers, therefore 
iesire that the military commandants shall not interfere with us at all. 
Bince 1830, we have been pretty much governed militarily, and in such a 
iespotic manner that we were finally driven to arms, to resist (restrain) 
vithin their limits the military subalterns of the Government." After de- 
;ailing the arbitrary acts of Bradburn, Austin goes on : '' Consequently we 
vere compelled to oppose them. We attacked Fort Velasco on the 26th of 
rune, with 112 fanners, hastily collected, without discipline, and badly 
irmed ; and after an obstinate and bloody engagement of eleven hours it 
urrendered on the terms expressed in the enclosed copy of the capitula- 
ion— every article of which has been strictly complied with on our part ; 
)esides furnishing the provisions needed for the troops," Mexia was satis 
ied with this representation. As the Texans had already declared for the 
constitution of 1824, and for Santa Anna, its champion, the troops afliliated 
eadily with them. • 

The gallantry and skill displayed by Austin in this battle secured his 
lection to the office of Brigadier-General of the militia over the equally 
:allant William H. Wharton. In 1838, the Asiatic cholera visited Texas, 
nd Austin fell a victim to its ravages. His aged father, who came to take 
barge of his son's family, also died of the same disease. Had John Austin 
ived, he would no doubt, says Mrs. Holly, have borne a conspicuous part 
1 the Texas revolution. 

Austin, William T.— Brother of the above; came to Texas in 1830. In 
835 he was Aid-de camp, successively, to S. F. Austin and to Burleson, 
'he latter compliments him very highly, for gallant conduct at the taking 
f Sun Antonio. In 1836 he was Aid to Houston. While <lie army was 
illing back from Gonzales, Austin was sent to the Brazos for cannon. At 
irazoriahe met Adjutant-General John A. Wharton, who informed him 
lat the guns and ammunition had already been forwarded to the armv 
•om Columbia. They never reached their destination. In excusing him- 
3lf for the retreat from the Colorado, General Houston pleaded tiic want of 
le cannon for which he had sent. Why they failed to reach him has never 
een explained; at any rate the arrival of the Twin Sisters at the Brazos, 



498 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and the victory of San Jacinto, more than atoned for their loss. By the 
orders of General AVharton, Colonel Austin took command of the port of 
Velasco, and made such preparation as he was able to resist the expected 
advance of Urrea. He thus failed to he at San Jacinto. After the revolu- 
tion, he filled a number of offices in Brazoria county, and was for years the 
clerk of the county court. lu 1863 he was in the Confederate service, as 
Captain of the Coast Guards at Houston. He died in Galvestou, in Febru- 
ary, 1874. 

Baker, Mosely — Came from Alabama to Texas in 1834 or 1835. He "wa& 
one of the first to raise a company for the campaign in 1836, and one of 
those ordered arrested by Uganechea, at San Felipe. It was Baker's com- 
pany that offered effectual resistance to Santa Anna, and prevented him 
from crossing the Brazos, at that place. While Baker was in command at 
that point, the town was burned. Baker said by Houston's order. But 
Houston always contended that his orders had been misunderstood. Baker's 
company behaved with distinguished gallantry at San Jacinto, and he was 
himself slightly wounded. He represented Galveston in the Congress of 
the Republic in 1838-39 ; and died of yellow fever, in Houston, November 
4th, 1848. 

Barret, D. C. — Was a lawyer by profession. He represented Bastrop 
in the Consultation in 1835, and was also a member of the Executive 
Council. He was one of the Commissioners sent by the Council to remon- 
strate with Cos against the arrest of certain citizens who had been pro- 
scribed. Barrett was a warm personal friend of Stephen F. Austin 

Bastrop, P. N. Tut — Or, as Saucedo gives his name, Felipe Henrique 
Neri, Baron De Bastrop, was a native of Prussia, and when very young 
entered the army af a soldier of fortune, under the great Frederick. Soon 
afterwards he offered himself to the King of Spain, who sent him on a. 
special mission to Mexico. While Louisiana was under Spanish domination, 
Bastrop, through the influence of De Galvez, obtained an empresario grant 
to settle thirty miles square, between the Mississippi and Red rivers. 
Bastrop ceded four hundred thousand acres of this land, lying on the 
Washita, to Aaron Burr, where the latter expected to plant a colony, as a 
nucleus for his expedition to the southwest. When Louisiana was re-suld 
to France, De Bastrop became a citizen of San Auto-iio, Texas. AVhen 
that place was visited by Moses Austin in 1821, Bastrop became deeply in- 
terested in Austin's colonization scheme. He was then one of the alcaldes 
of the city. In 1824 he became Land Commissioner, and resided in the 
new town of San Felipe. In 1824, and again in 1827, he represented Texas 
in the Legislature of Coahuilaand Texas; and died in 1828 or 1829. 

Baylor, R.E.B-AVas a native of Kentucky, who in early life removed to 
Alabama. He became an active politician, and at one time represented his 
district in the United States Congress. He came to Texas during the days 
of the Republic, and was soon afterward appointed District Judge. He 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 499 

was re-appointed to the same oflBce after annexation, and held the office until 
he felt that advancing age required him to retire to private life. He was a 
member of the Constitutional Convention in 1845; and also a leading' 
member and minister in the Baptist church ; and his denomination named 
^' Baylor University " in his honor, ^e died at his home, near Indepen- 
dence, Washington county, in December, 1872. 

Bean, Ellis P. — Was a native of Tennessee. When but sixteen years ot 
age, his father, at his own urgent solicitation, supplied him with a flat-boat 
load of western produce to trade on down the river. At the Muscle shoals 
the boat was capsized, and Bean escaped with nothing but the clothes he 
had on. He, however, continued the trip. At Natchez he formed the ac- 
quaintance of Philip Nolan, then collecting a company for catching mustang 
horses in Texas. Bean joined this expedition, and was elected second in 
command. When at the block house or fort, near the present town of 
Tehuacana, they were overtaken by a party of Spaniards under Musquis, 
•on the 21st of March, 1801. Nolan was killed, and his companions made 
prisoners. Bean, upon whom the command devolved, was bitterly opposed 
to a surrender ; but Musquis promised that the Americans should be sent 
to Natchez and released, and the others insisted on surrendering. On 
reaching Nacogdoches they were chained two and two, and marched to San 
Antonio, and then to the Kio Grande. According to Mexican custom, these 
prisoners were frequently moved from one prison to another. Bean resorted 
to various expedients to make money to supply his necessities. At San 
Luis Potosi, where he staid for more than a year, he followed shoemaking. 
At Chihuahua he set up a hatter's shop ; and manufactured such superior 
hats that he soon enjoyed a monopoly of the hat trade. He was very in- 
genious. While at Acapulco he learned that they needed some one to pre- 
pare and set the fuse for blasting rocks, and he proclaimed himself an adept 
at the business, though in fact he knew nothing about it. He succeeded in 
blasting rocks and escaping his guard. But he was soon recaptured. He 
had secreted himself in an empty cask on board a vessel, and was betrayed 
by the Portuguese cook. He was returned to a dark cell, where he had 
previously been confined, and where he was cordially welcomed back by a 
white lizard he had previously tamed. He was next taken out to prepai*e 
some rude machinery for making powder, which he readily accomplished. 

In 1811-12, the revolution was in progress, and the viceroy, who was in- 
need of troops, offered Bean his liberty, if he would enlist in the royal 
army. This he readily consented to do; with the intention, as he said, of 
going over to the revolutionists on the first opportunity. This soon occurred, 
and the brave Morelos was but too glad to receive such an acquisition to 
the Republican ranks. The two became fast friends. Bean immediately 
set to work to build powder mills, and to prepare furnaces for casting 
cannon, and shops for preparing all kinds of arms and ammunition. He 
displayed such coolness in action that he soon rose to tlie rank of Colonel. 
He was in command of the troops that beseiged, and finally captured, the 
city of Acapulco, where he had been so long imprisoned. Bean treated his 
prisoners with great generosity, and won the admiration both of friends 



500 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and foes. In the fUll of 1814, Bean was sent by the Kepnblicans as an agent 
to promote their cause in tlie United States. He found at Nautla, the 
" Tiger," one of Lalitte's boats, under the command of Captvain Dominic. 
At Barrataria, Bean first heard of the war between the United States and 
Great Britain, and he and Lafitte determined to visit General Jackson's 
headquarters at New Orleans. As the British guarded the coast, the two 
threaded their way through the swamps and bayous to that city. Bean 
was well known to Jackson, and was at once placed in charge of a 
battery. Lafitte, also, was given a command; and both did heroic service 
in tiio great battle. 

Tiie times were unpi'opitious for Bean's success in the United States; and 
he returned to the coast of Mexico in one of Lafitte's ships. The jicxt year 
he again returned to the United States in company with the diplomatist, 
Herrera. 

In 1818, Beau visited Tennessee, and spent some timB at his early home. 
He went next to Arkansas; but finally came to Texas as a colonist, and 
settled at Mound Prairie. In 1825, after the overthrow of the Spaniards in 
Mexico, Bean revisited that country. He was kindly received by his old 
companions in arms; his commission restored, and he was sent back to 
Texas as an Indian Agent. In 1832, he built Fort Teran, on the Neches 
river. An intimate personal friend of General Sam Houston, Bean kept 
the Indians in East Texas quiet during the exciting campaign of 18o6. 
After the Texas revolution. Beau returned to Mexico. While fighting there 
in the Republican ranks, he had married an elegant lady, then a refugee in 
his camp. After the Mexican revolution, this lady recovered her property, 
and Bean spent the evening of his days very happily at her hacienda, near 
Jalapa, where he died, October 3d, 1846. 

Beaumont, Jefferson — Was a leading merchant at Natchez, Mississippi^ 
He came to Texas during the Revolutionary period. He was several years 
Chief Justice of Calhoun county, where he died, in 1863. Jefferson county 
and the town of Beaumont were named in his honor. 

Bee, Bernard E. Sr. — Belonged to a distinguished family of South Car- 
olina. He came to Texas at an early period. He was in the cabinet of 
Burnet, ad interim, and also in the cabinets of both Houston and Lamar. 
From 1830 to 1841, he was Minister to the United States. It was mainly 
through Bee's influence that General James Hamilton, his brother in-law, 
was induced to take so deep an interest in the affairs of Texas. He died in 
South Carolina, in 1853. 

\ Belisle, Monseur De. — A distinguished Frenchman sent in 1719, with a 
company of about one thousand persons, to plant a colony at the mouth of 
the Mississippi river. Like the fleet of Lasalle, this fleet was driven too 
far to the west, and a landing was made for water, on the bay of San Ber- 
nardo, (Matagorda). While the sailors were procuring the water, Belisle 
and four companions went on shore to hunt. According to commonly 
received tradition, the hunters overstayed their time and the vessels hoisted 
sail and left them. Bossu, (the marvellous writer who tells the story ot 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 501 

Belisle), says the party were about to starve, hunting, as the reader will 
bear in minrl, in Western Texas, then abounding in game and fish; but as 
the story goes, they were about to starve, when Belisle gave his dog to his 
companions to eat. The dog seems to have apprehended his Impending 
doom, and wisely fled to the wilderness. Four of the men starved to 
death ; and Belisle was about to share their fate, when his wonderful dog 
returned with an opossum in his mouth. After many strange and marvel- 
ous experiences among the Indians, Belisle finally made his way to the 
headquarters of St. Denis, at Natchitoches. In 1721, DeBienville, Gov- 
ernor of Louisiana, sent Belisle a second time to Matagorda bay ; this time 
with men and means to build a fort and hold the country for France. He 
was not the man for such an undertaking, and finding the Indians hostile, 
and meeting other discouragements, he soon abandoned the country to the 
Spaniards, and returned to Louisiana, where he subsequently filled a num- 
ber of important offices. 

Bell, Josiah H. — A native of Kentucky, came to Texas among the very 
first of Austin's colonists. After remaining for a short time in the neigh- 
borhood of Washington, he descended the river, and settled in Brazoria 
county, at Bell's Landing, (now Columbia) . When Austin went to Mexico 
in 1822, he left his colony in charge of Mr. Bell, who was appointed an 
alcalde by Governor Trespalacios the same year. He died in 1838. Mrs. 
Bell died in 1856. 

Bell, P. Hansborough.— Was a native of Virginia; landed at Velasco, 
in March, 1836, and walked tap to Groce's, where the army was then 
encamped. He fought as a private at San Jacinto. In 1839 he was Inspector- 
General; 181^5, Captain of Rangers; during the Mexican war he became a 
Colonel of Volunteers. He was Governor of Texas from 1850 to 1853, after 
which he represented the Western district two terms in the United States 
Congress. At the expiration of his second term, he married and settled in 
North Carolina, where he still lives. 

Bennett, Joseph H. — Was a Lieutenant-Colonel at the battle of San 
Jacinto. In 1842 he raised a battallion for the expedition under Somervell; 
but when they reached the Rio Grande river, by permission of the com- 
mander, Bennett and about two hundred of his men returned to their homes 
in Montgomery county. He died in Navarro county in 1849. 

Billingsley, Jesse. — Commanded company C. in Burleson's regiment 
and was slightly wounded at the battle of San Jacinto. He had previously 
distinguished himself as an Indian fighter. . He was a member of the first 
Congress at Columbia, and while a member of that body wore a buckskin 
suit he had captured from an Indian. During the session he slept upon his 
blanket. In 1838 and following years, he commanded a ranging company 
upon the frontier. In his autobiography, he says that " he supported eighty 
men on the frontier with the wild game of the forest, and clothed them 
Avith the skins of the wild animals slaughtered, and we were only charge- 
able to the Government for one sack of coffee and one sack of salt." After 



502 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

annexation, Captain Billingsley represented Bastrop county in the Legisla- 
ture. He still lives. 

BOG.RT, Samuel A.-Was an officer in the battle of New Orleans; came 
to Texas about the time of annexation; was in the Mexican war; filled 
a number of offices, and died near M'Kinney, in 1861. 

Borden, Gail, JR.-Was a native of New York; came from Cincinnati 
to Texas in 18-^8; filled a nnmber of civil offices, and was a member of the 
Convention at San Felipe in 1833. In 1835 he commenced the publication 
of the Texas Telegraph, thQ first permanent nswspaper m Texas, i he 
printers were working ofi" a form of the paper at Harrisburg when Santa 
Anna's army appeared at the place, and threw the type and press into the 
bavou Its publication was renewed early in the summer of 1836, at 
Columbia, but was, with the Government, transferred to the new town o^ 
Houston; and soon afterwards the paper was sold to Messrs. Moore and 

Cruger. ^ i a. ^ 4. 

Mr Borden was the agent of the Galveston City Company, and the first 
Collector of the Port of Galveston. After annexation Mr. Borden dis- 
tino-uished himself as an inventor. He secured a valuable patent for pre- 
seiwino- meat in a form which he called " meat biscuit." He also secured a 
patent°for a process of condensing milk; and Borden's -condensed milk ' 
has become an important article of commerce. He died at Bordensville, in 
Colorado county, in January 1874. 

Borden, John P.— A brother of the above; was a Lieutenant in Mosely 
Baker's company at San Jacinto; and first Commissioner of the General 
Land Office. He lives at Bordensville. 

Borden, Thomas IL— Another and older brother of the above. He was 
a partner of Gail's in the publication of the Telegraph, and also in the sur- 
vey and sale of the city lots in Galveston. He died in Galveston, in 18 w . 

Bowie, James- Was a native of Georgia, but in 1802 he removed with 
his family to Chatahoula parish, Louisiana. Here Rezin P. Bowie manufac- 
tured the celebrated knife which bears his name, and presented one to 
his brother James, to be used in hunting. The length of the original kmfe 
was nine and a quarter inches; its width was one and a half inches, with 
a sino-le ed^re and a straight blade. James Bowie had a quarrel on hand, 
and had be°en once waylaid and shot. He was expecting another attack, 
and his brother gave him the knife to be used in case of necessity. Without 
any formal challenge, the two parties met on a sand bank or bar in the Mis- 
sissippi river, on the 10th of September, 1827. At the first fire James Bowie 
was shot down, and Norris Wright, his antagonist, was advancing upon 
him when Bowie drew the knife and killed him. One or two others were 
killed in the melee. Rezin Bowie long afterwards said that neither he nor 
his brother James had ever fought a duel. This statement was made to 
vindicate the character generally ascribed to the Bowies. Except in the 
ti..Ut on the sand bar, neitlier of them ever used the bowie, except in hunt- 
iuo- for which it was made. During the period of Lafitte's occupancy of 




HOUSTON AND SANTA ANNA. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 505 

Galveston, the three Bowies — ReziiiP., James and John — engaged in buy- 
ing the African negroes taken from Spanish slavers by Lafitte's men, anti 
carrying them through the swamps to Louisiana for sale. They are said to 
have made sixty-live thousand dollai'S by this contraband trade. The price 
of a negro in Galveston was one dollar a pound. On one occasion James 
Bowie started with about ninety negroes to Alexandria, when the whole 
number escaped and fled to the west. He followed them as far as the Col- 
orado, but could never recover them. Perhaps they were carried off by the 
Indians. (A suggestion — We occasionally see Mexicans, who look very 
much as though they were slightly tinged with negro blood. May they not 
be the descendants of this runawaj^ party ?) 

James Bowie was connected with Long's expedition in 1819, after which 
he remained most of the time in Mexican territory. On the 5th of October, 
1830, he became a naturalized citizen at Saltillo, and soon after married the 
daughter of Vice-Governor Veramendi, of San Antonio. 

Fight on the San Saba. — On the 2d of November, 1831, James and Eezin 
Bowie, and seven other Americans and two negro servants, started from 
San Antonio to hunt for the San Saba silver mines. Before reaching the 
old San Saba mission, they were intercepted by 164 Tehuacana and Caddo 
Indians, AV'hen tlie Americans found themselves confronted by such a 
party, they threw up temporary breastworks, which the Indians vigorously 
and repeatedly assaulted. Failing to disloge the Bowies, the Indians set 
tire to the rich grass, hoping to burn them out. This expedient also failed. 
The fight had now lasted from sunrise to sundown. Never did men display 
greater courage and heroism than was displayed by the Bowies and their 
companions in this fight. Only one of their number had been killed, and 
three wounded. The Indians lost nearly half their number. 

In August, 1832, James Bowie was at Nacogdoches, and, after the surren- 
der of Piedras, he took charge of the prisoners and conveyed them to San 
Felipe, whence they were sent to Tampico. In 183$ he was with the army 
of Austin, and was second in command at the battle of Concepcion. In 
rank, Bowie was superior to Fannin, who was then only a captain, while 
Bowie was a colonel. But Austin had sent out the reconnoitering party 
under Fannin. It was perhaps this, together with the general dissatisfac- 
tion at the tardy movements of the army, which induced Bowie to resio-n 
his commission, which he did on the 2d of November. After the taking of 
San Antonia, Bowie was for a time connected with the army at Goliad. 
Houston, on the 17th of December, sent him an order to organize for a des- 
cent on Matamoras. But Bowie had left Goliad, and this order never 
reached him. Houston was opposed to an attempt to take Matamoras, and 
it was conjectured that the order to Bowie was intended to embarrass John- 
son and Grant, who were also preparing to march to the Rio Grande. He 
soon returned to Goliad, where he met Houston January 16th, 1836. Houston 
sent him b.ack to Sun Antonio, with orders to Colonel Neil to dismantle the 
fort and withdraw to the east side of the Guadalupe river. Had this order 
been executed, the sacrifice of the Alamo Avould have been averted. But 
Bowie found Travis in command at San Antonio, acting under orders of 
Lieutenant-Governor Robiasou. or Governor Smith. Bowie was then iu 



506 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

feeble health, and when Santa Anna arrived, he, with the other Texans,. 
entered the Alamo with Travis. During the seige, when Travis demanded 
that all who were willing to die with him defending the place should rally 
under a fla.r bv his side, everv man but one promptly took the place, and 
Bowie, who was sick in bed, had his cot carried to the designated spot- 
When the Alamo fell, he was found in bed, and killed by the Mexicans. 

Brvdburn, Juan DAVis.-Was a native of the State of Virginia. He- 
joined Mina's expedition in 1816, and accompanied that unfortunate General 
"to Soto la Marina. By concealing himself in the mountains near Acapul- 
co, he escaped the sad fate of his chief. Joining the rising chief, Guer- 
rero, he rapidly rose to distinction in the Republican ranks. In 1830 he was 
sent 'to Texas, and appointed to command the small garrison at Anahuac. 
Here Bradburn exercised a most despotic sway. When negro slaves took 
refuo-e in his camp, he. immediately enUsted them in the army, and would 
not permit masters to reclaim them. He abolished the municipality of 
Liberty, and created one at Anahuac. He closed all the ports of Austin's 
colony, and compelled the colonists to transact all their business at Ana- 
huac. 'Finally, he, in a most arbitrary manner, arrested a number of citi- 
zens ' who had expressed themselves somewhat freely about his despotic 
cotirse, and imprisoned them in the stockade. Among those thus arrested,- 
wore W. B. Travis, Patrick H. Jack, and Monroe Edwards. This produced 
an intense excitement, and a military organization was effected, under F.. 
W. Johnson, for the rescue of the prisoners, whom Bradburn threatened to 
send to Vera Cruz for trial. Before any blood was shed, Piedras arrived 
from Nacogdoches, who, after inquiring into the subject, released the pris- 
oners. Bradburn immediately left the Province. In 1836 he returned to- 
Texas with Santa Anna, but being in the command of Urrea, he was not 
captured at San Jacinto. 

Brenham, Dr. R. F.— Was a native of Keutttcky. He was one of the 
Commissioners sent by President Lamar, to accompany the Santa Fe expe- 
dition, and suffered the horrors of a long imprisonment. After his release 
and return to Texas, he joined Somervell's expedition, and on the Rio 
Grande, instead of returning with the main command, lie joined in the 
Mier expedition, when he was again made a prisoner. When the Mier 
prisoners rose upon their guard at Salado, February 11th, 1843, Dr. Bren- 
ham, after disarming and killing one Mexican, was himself slain. The: 
county-seat of Washington county was named in his honor. 

Brigham, Asa.— First Treasurer of the Republic, came from Massachu 
setts to Texas in 1832; served for a short time in the office of Alcalde, in 
Brazoria county ; was a member of the Convention in 1836 ; died at his 
home, on the Brazos, in 1844. 

Briscoe, Andrew.— Was in the Convention of 1836, and commanded a" 
company of Regulars at San Jacinto. He was subsequently, for a number 
of years, Chief Justice of Harris county. He afterwards engaged in mer- 
cantile business in New Orleans, where he died. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 507 

Bkown, Henry S. — Was burn in Kentucky, in 1793; settled in Missouri 
in 1810; was in the battle of Fort Clark, Illinois, in 1813; in 1824 came ta 
Texas, lauding at the mouth of the Brazos with a stock of goods for the 
Mexican trade. He became conspicuous as an Indian-fighter, and was 
Captain of a company at the taking of Velasco in 1832. He died in Colum- 
bia in 1834. 

Brown, John. — Brother of the above, came to Texas at the same time. 
In 1825 he was taken by the Waco Indians, and held a prisoner for more 
than a year; this gave him the name of " Waco Brown." He died in Saa 
Antonio, in 1831. 

Bryan, Moses Austin. — A nephew of Stephen F. Austin ; came to TexaSy 
lauding at the mouth of the Brazos, in 1831 ; in 1835 he was private secre- 
tary, first to General Austin, and afterwards to General Burleson ; and was 
in the battle of San Jacinto. In 1839, he was Secretary of Legation to the 
United States. 1S79, Post Master at Brenham. 

Bryan, Guy M. — Brother of the above, came to Texas at the same time. 
After serving in the State Legislature, he represented the Western district 
in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1859. In 1874 he represented 
the Galveston district in the Lower House of the Legislature, and was the 
Speaker of the House. In 1879, again in the Legislature from Galveston. 

Burleson, Edward — Was born in North Carolina in 1798. When a mere 
lad, he went with his father, a captain in the Creek war. His father was 
uneducated, and took young Ed. along to act as secretary, and keep the- 
muster roll of the company. He thus received his first lesson in military 
life under General Jackson, The family removed to Virginia, where he 
was elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the militia. They next removed to the 
western district of Tennessee, where he was elected Colonel of a regiment of 
militia. In 1831, he removed to Texas and settled in Bastrop county. This 
was then on the extreme frontier, and Burleson was soon called upon to lead 
his fellow-citizens to repel parties of marauding savages. His courage and 
ability soon inspired confidence, and the people upon the frontier learned to- 
repose with security when Burleson was between them and the hostile 
Comanches. 

At Gonzales, when Stephen F. Austin became commander of the Texans, 
Burleson was elected Colonel of the only regiment organized. A few 
weeks later, when Austin resigned the command, he was elected liis succes- 
sor. To him General Cos, on the 9th of December, surrendered his army 
of twelve hundred men. 

At the reorganization of the army at Gonzales, in 1836, Burleson was 
elected Colonel of the first regiment. It was Burleson's regiment, at the 
battle of San Jacinto, which was placed immediately in front of the Mexican 
breastworks, and which stormed those works, drove out the enemy, and 
captured the cannon. It was a party of Burleson's men, set to watch the 
retreating Mexicans, that brought in Santa Anna as a prisoner. In 1837, 



508 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ne was elected Brigadier General of the militia, and in 1838, appointed 
Colonel in the regular army. He was ever watchful, and whether he had a 
command or not, Avas always ready to meet the wily foe. At Seguiu he 
defeated the party of Cordova, and saved the settlements from the ravages 
of the Mexicans and Indians. He chastised the Indians that murdered 
Mrs. Coleman, and his regiment participated in the war for the expulsion 
of the Cherokees from East Texas. Towards the close of the same year, 
he defeated a party of Cherokees on Cherokee creek, iu Saa Saba county. 
At the battle with the Comanches, at Plum creek, Burleson comtnanded 
one division of the Texans, In 1841, he was elected Vice-President. After 
the raids of Vasquis and Wall, in 1342, the people of Texas very generally 
thought it advisable to organize a raid into the States on the Rio Grande, 
as a retaliatory measure, and nearly all desired Burleson as a commander. 
President Houston announced himself in fiivor of the contemplated expedi- 
tion, and appointed General A. Somervell to the command. Somervell had 
not sought the position, and would have declined it but for Houston's ur- 
gency in the matter. In a letter to Anson Jones, dated San Antonio, March 
25th, 1842, Somervell says: "I ax'rived here on the 17th, to take command 
of the forces in the field, in accordance with the order of the President. 
The men and officers refused to obey, claiming the right, as volunteers, to 
select their own oflBcers, which they did, and Burleson was elected without 
opposition." Notwithstanding this flattering expression in his favor, Bur- 
leson, who was as obedient to his superiors as he was brave upon the field, 
absolutely refused to take command, and the expedition which resulted so 
disastrously was led by Somervell. It is useless to speculate as to what 
would have been the result, had the brave and heroic leader selected hy the 
men commanded them on the ill-fated expedition to Guerrero. 

In 1843, he was a candidate for the Presidency, but was defeated by Dr. 
Jones, the candidate of the outgoing administration of Houston. Burleson 
was in Mexico during the war, on the staflf of 'General Henderson. After 
his return to Texas, he settled his family at the beautilul spring which 
forms the San Marcos river, and was immediately elected to the State Senate, 
from the district including the capital of the State. At the meeting of the 
Legislature, he was elected President of the Senate. This was by a unani- 
mous vote, on the motion of the venerable Jesse Grimes. At the close of 
his term he was re-elected again to the Senate. But his health was declin- 
ing, and he di -d in the city of Austin, December 26th, 1851. The writer 
of a brief biographical sketch says: " His death produced a profound sen- 
sation throughout the whole length and breadth of a State, in which his 
name had become a familiar household word. Eloquent eulogies were pro- 
nounced in both houses of the Legislature, and resolutions, expressive of 
the genei'al grief, adopted. 

" A purer character than that of General Burleson is not to be found delin- 
eated in the history of any country. His reputation as a soldier, not won 
in a single victory, or single enterprise, but built up by years of service and 
success, was left behind him Avithout a single stain ; while the purity of his 
conduct as a legislator escaped even the breath of suspicion. No unhal- 
lowed ambition prompted him to brave the dangers of the battle-field — no 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICES. 509 

petty Jealousy of the laurels won by others ever found a lodgment, for a 
single 'moment, in his noble and generous bosom. Brave, yet unambitious- 
—modest, yet firm of purpose— simple in his manners, yet dignified— he 
won the friendsliip of the worthiest of the land, and never lost it. In him 
were happily blended the attributes of a successful warrior, with the repub- 
lican and patriarchal simplicity of a quiet and unassuming country gentle- 
man, whose bravery was unsurpassed by his open and cordial hospitality. 
In his personal intercourse Avith society, whether in the camp among his 
comrades in arms, or among his countrymen in the walks of private life, 
perhaps the most prominent trait of character, which was everywhere de- 
veloped, was an inflexible love of justice, in its most extensive and signifi- 
cant sen^e. He seemed to be scarcely aware of the honors which crowded 
upon him as he parsed through lite, " 

We add some extracts from eulogies delivered at his death. The first is 
from a speech of Hon. Ed. Tarver, of Washington, who had been intimate 
with the Burleson family from his boyhood. The second is from the eulogy 
pronounced by Hon. George M. Bryan, over the corpse, just before the 
funeral rites were performed by the Masonic fraternity, of which General 
Burleson was a shining light: 

"■ These are the departing days of the present year; this is the time when 
most reflecting minds are disposed to take a general retrospect of the cv -nis 
of the outgoing year; and I imagine that I he latter days of this Avill be re- 
membered as the most gloomy which have fallen upon the land for many 
years. To-day, nature herself seems shrouded in mourning. All is black- 
ness, darkness and desolation, as though she herself participated in our 
national sorrow and sympathized with us in our bereavement : 

" ' There is a tear for all who die, 
A moiH-ner o'er the humblest grave, 
« But nations swell the fuuerul cry, 

And triumph weeps ai)ove the brave.' 

" The deceased has filled for many years a prominent place among the 
citizens of Texas, and Western Texas in particular. 

" In relation to her history and its soul-stirring events, he might truly 
say, " cujas jjars mar/nn faiy He discharged the duties of the many im- 
portant stations which he was chosen to fill in the councils of his country 
with a singleness of heart and purity of purpose that did honor alike to him 
and his country. Sir, I know his history from the beginning. His life has 
been one continued scene of peril, of suffering and of the most trying 
vicissitudes. Yet he has passed through all with a stainless and blameless 
reputation, unsullied by the imputation of wrong either in his public or 
private capacity. 

" In contemplating his character, we are at a loss which most to admire^ 
-the childlike simplicity and unmixed goodness of the man, or the undaunted 
bravery of the soldier. In every relation of social life, there were none 
whose motives were so entirely unsullied by selfishness. 

'• He has been the prop and stay of the western frontier. In every expe- 
dition against the common foe, his name has been a rallying cry, around 



510 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

which the bold frontiersmen have gathered and girded on their armor fbr 
the strife. 

" This event has come so suddenly upon u??, that, although for days past we 
have been taught to believe that he must die, I, for one, had still held out. 
hoping against hope; and not until I heard the funeral knell of this morn- 
ing, could I bring myself to realize the sad fact that General Edward 
Burleson is no more. He had been standing for days, 

" ' Where nature makes that melancholy pause. 
Her breathing moment, on the bridge where time, 
Of light aud darkness, forms an arcli sublime.' 

" He who had gone unharmed and unhurt through dangers so many ; who 
has come the unscathed victor from so many hard-fought battles, has at last 
shared the common lot and yielded to the King of Terrors. He met death 
with that calmness and fortitude which become a soldier and a Christian. 

"He was so much loved and respected by all, that we had fondly hoped 
that his life might be spared for years to come ; that he might have many 
years of quiet enjoyment in the country whose prosperity and independence 
he contributed so much to establish. But Providence has willed it other- 
wise, and we must bow in humble submission to his decree. 

'' Of Edward Burleson there is nothing left us but the memory of his 
services aud the remembrance of his virtues. Let such recollections be ever 
cherished." 

"During the Mexican war, when General Taylor called upon Texas for 
volunteers, Burleson was among the first to respond. And the Rio Gi'aude 
and the heights of Monterey attest his patriotism and valor. 

" 'The hero of thirty battles, he was never known to retreat.' Brave 
without rashness, cautious without timidity, benevolent without weakness, 
he wasthe friend of the vanquished, as he was the terror of the enemy. 
But, it was not only as a soldier that General Burleson was conspicuous; 
he shone in the more peaceful walks of life. As a statesman, he long held 
a prominent position in Texas. As the Vice-President of Texas, ns a candi- 
date for the Presidency, as a Senator of the Legislature of the State since 
annexation, in all these positions he has been remarkable for his good sense, 
his honesty, his purity and his humility. No one who had so filled the 
public eye, could have worn honors more meeklj' than General Burleson. 
He was a man of softness and delicacy of feeling. He was as kind and 
gentle in his family, and in his intercourse with his fellow-men, as the most 
modest, benevolent and humane man could be. He was a Free Mason and 
a Christian, aud carried into his private aud public life the practical exem- 
plifications of the juire and ennobling doctrines therein taught. He was a 
good vian, and as such we revere him. He was a patriot, and as such we 
love him. He was a benefactor, and for this we praise him. He died as he 
had lived, in the service of lu's countnj. He has gone to his Creator, who* 
will reward him — that mighty God, who by this act admonishes us of our 
frailty — ' Avhat shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.' A few 
doys since and he was amongst us, strong and in robust health. Behold 
him nowl There he is, cold and lifeless, with no ear to hear, no month to 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 511 

speak to the loved ones who throng around him. Old friend of my uncle — 
my own friend — the friend of Texas, fare thee well ! ' Your body is buried 
hi peace, but your name Uveth evermore !^ ^'' 

'^Associates, Senators and Kepresentatives, let this practical lesson teach us 
what we are. 

" That though ' we sit within the Halls of State, 

Or mount the Monarch'.s throne ; 
Our names are lauded to the skies, 

Yet earth is not our home ; 
We soon must leave the joys of earth 

To wither, droop, and die ; 
Our grandeur, titles, wealth and power, 

Must in the cold grave lie.'' " 

Burleson, Edwakd Jr. — Son of the above, became a brave and patriotic 
soldier on the frontier upon which he had been raised ; won distinction as 
an Indian- fighter, and was highly esteemed as a citizen. He represented 
Hays county in the Constitutional Convention of 1875, and died in 1877, a 
few weeks after burying his wife. 

Burnet, David G. — Was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1788. In 1806, 
he joined Mirandi's expedition against Venezuela, served in the capacity of 
lieutenant, and commanded a launch in an attack upon a coast village. The 
enterprise not proving successful, he returned to New York; but joined 
Miranda again in his attack upon Caracas, in 1808. Mirandi was captured 
but Burnet escaped. In 1813, he became a citizen of Ohio ; in 1817, engaged 
in mercantile business at Natchitoches, Louisiai.a. His health was very 
poor, and for three years he led a wandering life with the Comanches on 
the frontiers of Texas. His health having been thoroughly restored, he 
returned to Cincinnati and studied law. He became a citizen of Texas in 
1826, and the next year obtained an Empresario contract Finding it im- 
possible with his limited means to settle his colony, he sold his contract to a 
New York company. Early in 1831 he married Miss Estis, of New York; 
and having purchased machinery for a saw-mill, he with his j'oung wife 
sailed for Texas, in the schooner "Call." The vessel was partially wrecked 
at Bolivar Point, and Mr. and Mrs. Burnet, at considerable peril, made 
their way through the breakers, and, drenched with the waters of the sea, 
reached the beach. Most of their wearing apparel was lost, but fortunately 
the boiler was hermetically closed, and floated off from the deck of th<> 
vessel, and was afterward recovered in Galveston bay. The saw-mill did 
not, however, prove a successful venture. 

Mr. Burnet, whose home was on the San Jacinto river, represented Lib- 
erty in the Convention of 1833. He drew up the very able memorial to the 
Mexican Government, showing the absolute necessity of a S'parate State 
Government for Texas, apart from Coahuila. He also drew up a set of 
resolutions strongly denouncing the African slave trade. This met with 
violent opposition, as Monroe Edwards was already introducing Africans 
into the province; but the Convention finally passed the resolutions. In 



512 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

1834, he was appointed a district judge for the department of the Brazos^ 
and reguhuly held his court at Sau Felipe. 

When the project of declaring Texas independent of Mexico was first 
agitated, Judge Burnet thought it premature. But the total destruction of 
civil liberty in Mexico by the personal despotism established by Santa Anna, 
left the true friends of republican institutions no alternative but indepen- 
dence, and he cordially espoused the revolutionary cause. At the organ- 
ization of the government ad interim,, March 16th, 18;36, he was elected 
President of the young Republic. On the evening of the day he was inaug- 
urated came the sad news of the fall of the Alamo and its brave defenders. 
This was followed in quick succession by the news of the defeat of Grant, 
the battle of Coleta, the surrender of Fannin, and the horrible massacre of 
Goliad. A panic seized the public mind; the members of the Convention 
has^tiiy dispersed, leaving the Secretary to finish up the journals and prepare 
the Constitution for publication. To be nearer the principal seaport, the 
seat of Goveramcnt was transferred from "Washington to Harrisburg. 
President Burnet sent patriotic appeals to the country and to the United 
States, for aid in this time of peril and disaster. He did all in his power to 
collect provisions and army stores for the soldiers in the field. He also 
assisted families in escaping from the invading foe. He was sorely grieved 
that the army retreated without any show of fight, across the great rivers 
where he thought a stand ought to have been made. After Houston had 
crossed the Brazos, the President sent General Eusk, Secretary of AVar, to 
headquai'ters, to try to arrest the further retreat. 

Two days before Santa Amia reached Harrisburg, Burnet left the place 
to secure the safety of his family, then at his home on the San Jacinto bay. 
He had just placed his family on a small sail-vessel at Nesv Washington, 
when Almonte, at the head of a squad of Mexican cavalry, dashed into town. 
Burnet, with his rifle in hand, stood in the stern of the boat, ready for 
defence; but Almonte did not dream that the President of Texas was in 
that little craft, and made no effort to take it, and the boat with its precious 
cargo safely reached Galveston. Here, in conjunction with IMr. Potter, the 
Secretary of the Navy, and other members of the Government, he exerted 
himself to send forward supplies to the army, which had reached Buffalo 
Bayou. But they were not entirely safe at Galveston ; it was known that 
Uriea was advancing along the coast towards that point. AH available 
resources were called into requisition for the defence of the island. Fortu- 
nately the battle of San Jacinto relieved them from danger. 

Several days elapsed before the news of the great victory reached the 
ishmd. As soon as. practicable, the President went up to Lynchburg, to 
adopt such measures as might be deemed necessary to secure the fruits of 
the victoi'y. For better accommodation, the Government was transferred to 
Velasco. Though tiie country was now in no immediate danger from 
Mexi(H), the President found himself sorely embarrassed. He was without 
an exchequer, and yet an army nuist be supported in the field; an army 
that Avas constantly receiving large accessions, though there was no pros- 
pect of fighting. A large immber of prisoners were to be fed and guarded. 
Civil law and order had to be evoked from chaos ; diplomatic relations had 




TOM GREEN, 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 516 

to be established with other nations : in a word the whole business of insti- 
tuting Government was to be done, and that without the requisite means. 
To augment the difficulties, the ordinance creating the Executive Department 
• required that all measures and all appointments should have the sanction of 
a majority of the Cabinet. It was soon known that upon important ques- 
tions, the Cabinet was divided. These diffei'ences were freely discussed 
among the people, and around the camp-fires of the soldiers, producing not 
only political strife, but personal animosities. 

During this period, excitement ran so high that the President, and even 
Houston and S. F. i^istiu, were accused of bribery. This however, is not 
very remarkable. After George Washington was elected President, he was 
accused of being a tool of the British party ; and it was said that John 
Adams secured his election as President by the proper distribution of 
British gold. 

In the midst of this excitement, it was rumored that Burnet would be 
assassinated. On the night of the expected assault, Mrs. Burnet kept a 
light burning, and sat at an open window, with a cocked pistol in her hand, 
determined, if necessary, to die defending her noble husband. Her pre- 
caution perhaps prevented the attack. Soon after the receipt of the letter 
referred to above. Colonel Millard arrived at Velasco with informal orders 
to arrest the President and take him to the headquarters of the army for 
trial. The execution of this order, whose purport was to be kept a pro- 
found secret, was committed to Colonel A. Turner, who was then at Velasco. 
The order to Turner was very comprehensive. It read: " You are hereby 
ordered to proceed, (from Qaintana to Velasco), and arrest the person of 
David G. Burnet; take into your possession the books and papers of his 
office ; and you will also take into your possession the books, records, and 
papers of the Secretaries of State, of War, and of the Treasury, and them 
safely keep, and report forthwith." This order wag signed by Colonel H. 
Millard. As Colonel Turner was determined in some way to counteract 
this revolutionary movement, he was in no hurry to execute this most 
extraordinary order. In the meantime, one of the men who came from the 
army with Millard got drunk and told the object of their visit to the seat of 
Government. When it became known that the army contemplated the 
subverson of the civil authority, a wonderful reaction took place in the 
public mind. Such citizens as T. F. M'Kinney, the Jacks, Whartons and 
others, resolved to stand by the President at all hazards. Some of them 
even threatened the lives of Millard and his companions. It was also for- 
tunate for Burnet that acompany of troops, known as the Buckeye Rangers 
had just arrived from Cincinnati, where they had been munificently enter- 
tained at the Burnet House, by the President's brother. This comi)any 
declared unanimously and enthusiastically for the President. ]\lillard 
became alarmed for his personal safety, and hastily left, and returned to 
the army. 

To the President, this was a most trying period. One of his children died 
from exposure in an uncomfortable house. Believing that the proper time 
had come for the full restoration of civil law, he, on the 12th of July, issued 
a proclamation forbidding the further impressment of private property by 

29 



516 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the army. Ou the 34th he revoked all commissions held by persons not 
actually iu the army or navy. This last, though highly approved by the 
people, brought him into conflict with General T. J. Chambers, who was 
still operating in the United States as Major-General of the Reserve. July* 
23d, he issued a proclamation for a general election, to take place on the first 
Monday in September. The election was held, and Congress met iu Colum- 
bia on the 3d of October. The Constitution, which had been almost unan- 
imously adopted, fixed the second Monday in December for the inaugura- 
tion of the new President. But Burnet felt that he could now safely turn 
over the responsibility of the Executive Department to his successor, and 
he tendered to Congress his resignation.* 

In 1838 he was elected to the office of Vice-President. President Lamar's 
health being precarious. Congress, in 1841, gave him leave of absence, and 
Burnet administered the government during the remainder of the term. 
During Governor Henderson's administration, Burnet was Secretary of 
State. In 1866 he was elected to the United States Senate, but was not 
admitted to his seat. 

Mrs. Burnet died iu 1858, leaving one son, who, at the breaking out of 
the civil war, entered the Confederate service as captain of artillery. He 
was killed while in command of a battery at Si^anish Fort, near Mobile, 
March 31st, 1865. After the breaking up of his ftimily by death. Judge 
Burnet found a home in the family of Mr. Preston Perry, of Galveston, 
where he died December 5th, 1870, aged eighty-three years. Just after his 
decease, a brief biographj- was published, prepared by Colonel A. M. Hobby, 
from which we make a brief extract: "Judge Burnet was distinguished 
by an active and honorable participation in the events of a revolution,^ 
the character of which his humane and generous influence impressed and 
his enlightened policy guided ; and was a sincere and ardent friend of the 
human race; but above all distinguished by the more eminent qualities of 
inflexible political purity and personal virtue. These, we believe, are uni- 
versally admitted as absolutely unquestioned, and alone should entitle the 
possessor to independent and durable renown ; and when we add to these 
high moral distinctions, his unaffected indifference to wealth and fame; 
noble aspirations and tender charities ; sympathy for the oppressed ; gener- 
osity to the fallen; love of goodness and truth, and a mind incapable of 
harboring sentiments of envy, mischief or wrong, we have a character 
indeed so rare, that the thoughtful and the just will pronounce it almost 
perfect." 



* Executive Department, Colujibia, Oct. 22d, 1836. 

To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives: 

Gentlemen — The period having arrived wheu, in the estimation of the Congress, the 
con>tituti()nal government muy be completely organized, and as I conceive such orgaui- 
zaiion to be desirable, I request the Congre.-s will not consider my iucumbeucy as any 
obstacle to the immediate inauguration of the Executive officers elect. 

Sensible of having discharged my duty to my adopted country to the utmost extent of 
my abilities and with a faithfulness unmingled by a celfish feeling. I shall retire from 
office with the inmost approbation of my own conscience, which I esteem more than the 
plaudits of men. David G. Burnet. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 517 

Burr, Aaron. — The fact that Burr originated the first movement for the 
occupancy of Texas by the Anglo-Americans, has induced most writers of 
Texas history to pay some attention to his filibustering expedition. The 
brief personal incidents in his life are-: that he was a native of New Jersey ; 
a lawyer by profession ; a gallant officer in the American revolution, though 
always distrusted by Washington. lie became an active politician, and 
carried the State of New York for the Republican party in opposition to 
Alexander Hamilton. Running for President on the same ticket with 
Jelferson, there was a tie in the Electoral College, thus throwing the elec- 
tion into the House of Representatives. In that body, the Federalists cast- 
ing their votes for Burr, there was a tie for thirty-eight ballots. Finally, 
Jefiersou was elected President, and Burr became Vice-President. But he 
had lost forever the confidence of the Republican party, and he was him- 
self very much dissatisfied with the result. He was growing unpopular 
and morose. In this state of mind, he quarrelled with his great political 
rival, and, in a duel fought July 11th, 1804, he killed Alexander Hamilton. 
(Of Hamilton, who was at the head of the Treasury during Washington's 
administration, Daniel Webster said: " He smote the rock of the National 
resources, and abundant streams of revenue burst forth ; he touched the 
dead corpse of public credit and it sprung upon its feet.") 

At the close of his official term, finding himself abandoned by all parties 
in the United States, Burr projected a grand scheme for a Southwestern 
Republic. The betrayal of this plot by his friend Wilkinson, and his own 
arrest, thwarted his plans ; and he went to Europe and spent some time in 
comparative poverty. He returned to the United States in 1812, and the 
next year the cup of his private grief was filled to overfiowing, by the loss 
at sea of his charming daughter, Theodosia, wife of Governor Alston, of 
South Carolina. He now resumed the practice of law in New York city, and 
recovered a handsome property for the celebrated Madam Jumel, whom he 
afterwads married. After a few years of turbulent matrimonial life, he and 
his wife quarreled and separated, and he died in New York, in September 
1836, just after Texas had become an independent Republic. 

There is not, perhaps, a more knotty question in American history than 
that connected with the movements of Aaron Burr. He at one time un- 
doubtedly contemplated the dismemberment of the American Union. It 
was a period of violent political strife; especially in the West, over the 
closing of the Mississippi river. In Burr's trial for treason, William Eaton, 
Esq., to whom Burr had given his plans, testified that when the latter sug- 
gested that the Government at Washington might throw obstacles in his 
way, Burr replied : " He would turn Congress, neck and heels, out of doors ; 
assassinate the President; seize on the Treasury and the Navy, and declare 
himself the Protector of an energetic government." But, as President 
Jefferson says in one of his letters, if Burr ever seriously entertained 
designs against the integrity of the American Union, that project was early 
abandoned, and his scheme was formed for operations entirely on Mexican 
territory. At that time it was confidently expected there would be war 
with Spain. President Jeficrson, in his message to Congress, December Gth, 
1805, used the following language, which was considered almost equivalent 



518 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

to a declaration of wai- : *' Considering that Congress alone is vested with the 
power of changing our condition from peace to war, I have thought it my 
duty to await their authority for preparations wiiich their means admit, to 
commence the war to advantage." 

At that time, leading citizens of the United States frequently canvassed 
the question of conquering Mexico and acquiring at least a portion of her 
territory. General Wilkinson, in command in the Southwest, was a zealous 
advocate for war. He had already sent Lieutenant Pike to obtain an accu- 
rate knowledge of the country. Burr's plans, however, were different. He 
proposed the establishment of a new Republic, lo include Texas and possi- 
bly the territory as far south as the Sierra Madre. Generals Jackson and 
Hardson were cognizant of these designs; which, however, were only to be 
carried out in case of a war with Spain. It was boldly asserted that Gen. 
Adair, of Kentucky, would co-operate Avilh Burr. 

The Spanish Viceroy had sent General Herrera and Governor Cordova to 
hold the Americans in check. For this purpose, the Spaniards crossed the 
Sabine to the old Adaes mission. Herrera's orders were positive that he 
must hold the place. Wilkinson's were equally positive that he must drive 
the Spaniards to the west side of the Sabine river. When all parties were 
in hourly expectation of a collision, Wilkinson and Herrera met, and amica- 
bly agreed that the forces of each should remain on their respective sides of 
" the neutral ground." 

Burr believed that Wilkinson had betrayed his plans to tlie Spaniards, 
and thus defeated them. It was even said that he had received compensa. 
tion for his treason, and $300,000 was mentioned as the price; and it was 
further said that Captain Walter Buling was sent to the city of Mexico for 
the money, wiiich, however, he failed to get. General Adair pronounced it 
" a venal and shameful bargain." General Eaton, however, seemed to 
think it was not pecuniary considerations alone that influenced Wilkinson. 
The latter feared Burr would supersede him in the command; and " he 
knew General Wilkinson well, and he would not act as lieutenant to any 
man living." Monette, who appears more than half willing to apologize 
for the General, says: "Whatever may have been his indiscretions, his 
pecuniary exactions, and his commercial intrigues with the credulous 
Spaniards, he never was a traitor to his country, or deserted her in the hour 
of danger. * * The finesse of diplomacj^, which could extort from the 
Spaniards a ransom for the safety of their pi-ovinces, does not change this 
feature of the question." This defection of Wilkinson effectually dissolved 
*' the Southwestern Republic." But there was another scheme of Burr's 
which, but for untoward circumstances, might have been successful. He 
liad bargained with Baron de Bastrop for four hundred thousand acres of 
land on the Washita river. He had persuaded his friend, Herman Blenuer- 
hassett, to give up his bsautiful villa on an island in the Ohio river, and 
remove to a more ge^nial Southern clime. Burr informed Commodore 
Truxton that " in case there was no war with Spain, he intended to invite 
his friends to settle his Washita lands; that in one year he would have a 
thousand families of respectable and fashionable people, and some of them 
of considerable property. That it was a fine country, and they would have 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 519 

charming society ; and that in two years he would have double the number 
of settlers ; and that being on the frontier lie would be ready to move when- 
ever a war took place." But Burr's arrest and trial for treason before 
Chief- Justice Marshall, at Richmond, effectually broke up all his plans for 
conquest and colonization. 

BcsTEMENTE, Anastasio. — We mention this name because, when he was 
in power in Mexico, he warmly espoused the colonization scheme of Austin. 
Bustemente was one of the leaders who secured the independence of 
Mexico ; was Vice-President in 1823, and again in 1828 ; and was President 
in 1829. The next year he issued some edicts very injurious to Texas: one 
prohibiting immigration ft-om the United States, and another to garrison 
the Province with soldiers, to keep the Texans in subjection. In 1832 he 
was banished by Santa Anna; recalled from exile in 1837; to operate against 
Texas ; elected Pi'esident again in 1840. A second time deposed and ban- 
ished by Santa Anna; returned to Mexico in 1845, and died at San Miguel 
de Alende in 1851. 

Calder, Robert J., — A native of Kentucky, came to Texas during the 
revolutionary period, and settled in Brazoria county. At tl>e breaking out 
of the war, he was one of the first to volunteer, and was with the company 
of Fannin at the battle of Concepcion. He, with six men, was ordered to 
take a position in the tower of the Mission church, as a good point for 
observation. They were thus cut off from their companions dui'ing the 
battle tlie next morning; but they enjoyed a splendid view of the battle- 
ground, and occasionally picked off a Mexican cavalryman, who came 
within rifle shot of the church. At San Jacinto, Calder commanded com- 
pany K, in Burleson's regiment. After the battle, he and Judge B. C. Frank- 
lin were detailed to convey the news and official dispatches to President 
Burnet at Galveston. Only an old, unwieldy skiff could be found in which 
to make the trip ; which occupied four days. During the Republic, Calder 
was Sheriff of Brazoria county. After annexaiion he removed to Fort 
Bend, and filled the office of Chief Justice of the county, in which he still 
fives. * 



* The author, in August, 1878, addressed a letter to Colonel Calder, aslcing for the 
particulars of that trip from tbe battle-ground to Galveston. To this the Colonel 
promptly respondt d. Our readers will be satisfied that no time was unnecessarily 
lost when they learn that, besides the President and other othcersof the government, 
there were on the island hundreds of refugees, families of women and children whose 
homes were on the Brazos and in the wc^t, and whose husbands were in the army. 
Among those refugees was the family of Major Douglass, wiiose plantation was on the 
San Bernard river. This family — well, a daughter of the major, has been fir forty 
years the com[>anion of Col. Calder, and is the mother of his children. The gallant 
young captain had been for months in the army, had commanded his company in the 
glurious battle that had secured liberty to Texas, and he was now anxious to be the first 
to bear the news to the lady who ruled queen of his affectioas, as well as to the Presi- 
dent and others, citizens then on the island. 

The only i)Ossible chance to reach the island was by an open boat or skilf, propelled 
by oars. The party consisted of Franklin, Calder and two soldiers detailed to accom- 



520 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

Caldwell, John. — Came from North Alabama to Texas in 1830, and 
settled on the frontier in Bastrop county, and opened a cotton plantation. 
He represented that county in both branches of the Texas Congress, in 
the Convention of 1845, and subsequently in the State Legislature, and died 
in 1870. 

Caldwell, Matthew. — A native of North Carolina ; came to Texas in 
1833 ; was in the Consultation in 1835, after which lie served in various 
capacities in tlie army. He was a Captain in the Santa Fe expedition; 
(spoken of by Kendall under the nick name of " Old Paint.") In 1842 he 
was in command of the force that iiursued Woll in his retreat from San 
Antonio. He died in Gonzales, December 28th, 1842. 

Callahan, J. H. — Came to Texas with the Georgia BattaUon, in 1835 ; 
was in the battle of Coieta, but escaped the Fannin massacre by being a 
mechanic. In 1855 he was captain of a ranging company on the frontier. 
The Lipans having committed depredations in Texas, and having escaped 
across the Rio Grande, Captain Callahan pursued them into Mexico. In 
doing this he was compelled to take military possession of the village of 
Piedras Negras. Unfortunately the village was burned when Callahan 
evacuated it ; but the Indians were chastised. In 1856, a difficulty occur- 



pany them. They started on the morning of the 23d ; took no provisions, because none 
were to be had, the commissary stores having been left at Harrlsburg on the 20th. 
About noon they reached Ruth's place, where they expected to get dinner, but the 
Mexicans had been there and stripped the place of eatables, and nothing was to b« 
had. At night they reached Spillman's island, and were fortunate in finding plenty of 
cornmeal, a side of bacon and plenty of chickens. There was no human being on the 
island. The next day they arrived at the head of the bay, and found it so rough that it 
was impossible to proceed across it in their leaky craft. The soldiers wanted to lie by 
until the wind shifted, but Calder insisted on going ahead if they had to coast it all the 
way to the island ; and leai)ing into the water with a tow line, pulled the skitf along the 
edge of the bay. Fraukliu was unaccustomed to work, and soon gave out. The sol- 
diers became tired, and most of the labor devolved upon Calder. Wliile coasting 
along that evening, they saw a steamer far to the eastward going -toward the mouth of 
the San Jacinto, but failed to make her see their signals, and thought perhaps she took 
them for Mexicans. 

Tlie party reached the Edwards place at Redfish bar about noon of the third day. 
Here they found some provisions and a box of fine Havana ciga^-s. The only living 
being they saw was a wild African negro, probably one introduced by Monroe 
Edwards. By this time almost the entire labor of propelling the unwieldy craft de- 
volved upon Calder, as the otiiers were tired out. About sundown on the fourth day 
they reached the neighborhood of Virginia Point, and could see the shipping in the 
harbor. Tired and hungry, as they had very Httle to eat that morning, Franklin and 
Calder spread their blankets by the side of an old cottonwood which was lying on the 
beach, and disturbed a rattlesnake as they were preparing to lie doAvn and sleep till 
morning. It had rained during the night, and when they awoke a norther was blow- 
ing, and their blankets were in the water. A few hours rowing brought them along- 
side of the war schooner Invincible, Capt. Wm. Brown. Through his speaking 
trumpet Brown inquired "What news 'r" " When I told him, his men," says Calder, 
" literally lifted us on board, and in the midst of the wildest excitement Brown took oflF 
his hat and gave us three cheers, and threw it as far as he could into the bay. He then 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICES. 521 

red between Captain Callahan and a family in the same neighborhood in 
which he lived, in Guadalupe county, by the name of Blassengame. Calla- 
han and a friend of his by the name of Johnson were killed. Afterward a 
party of citizens killed two of the Blassengames. 

Cameron, Ewen. — A Scotsman by birth, who came to Texas in the early 
days of the Texas Republic. He was a captain in the Republican army 
which proclaimed the " Republic of the Rio Grande." During that cam- 
paign he had the misfortune to offend Canalis, one of the Mexican oflBcers 
in command. Cameron was a captain in the Mier expedition ; was in the 
break at Salado ; but drew a white bean in the fearful lottery that follow- 
ed their recapture, and was, of course, entitled to his life. A few days 
later, positive orders came to the command to " shoot Captain Cameron;" 
and he was shot. It is supposed that his former companion, Canalis, pro- 
cured the order. Cameron was a brave, honorable and skillful officer. For 
him Cameron county was named. 



shouted to his men, ' Turn loose Long Tom.' After three discharges, he suddenly- 
stopped and said: ' Hold on, boys, or old Hawkins (the senior commodore) will put 
me in irons again.' " Declining to wait for anything to eat, they were treated to the 
best liquor on the ship. They entered the Captain's gig, and with four stalwart sea- 
men started for the harbor. The Independence, the flagship of Commodore Hawkins, 
was anchored between them and the lauding. As they approached the ship. Commo- 
dore Hawkins, witli his glas^s, recognized Franklin and Calder, and began eagerly 
hailing for the news. When they were sufiiciently near to be understood, a scene of 
excitement ensued beggaring description ; and now it spread from vessel to vessel, 
reached groups on the land, and the welkin raug with shout after shout, until the people 
were hoarse. Hawkins tired thirteen guns. We suppose this was for the old thirteen 
colonies, as Hawkins had been in the U. S. navy. When the Commodore learned that 
they had been fasting for twenty-four hours, he had a sumptuous dinner prepared, and 
the party did not need much urging to stay and partake of the hospitalities of the old 
salt. They were staying a little too long, and finally Hawkins hinted that they had 
better go ashore and report to the President. 

President Burnet, who was a great stickler for official prerogative, was a little miflfed 
that everybodyon the island should have heard the glorious news before he was officially 
notified of the battle and its result; and when the party reached the President's marquee 
they were received, as Calder says, " with stately courtesy— which at first we did not 
understand, thinking a little more cordiality and less formality would have suited the 
case and the messengers. This, however, (continues our narrative) gradually sub- 
sided, and the President, before the interview closed, treated us with that grace and 
genial courtesy for which, throughout life, he was ever distinguished." 

Most of the families of refugees were already on the schooner Flash, Captain Falvel, 
ready to sail for New Orleans, and had orders to sail that morning, as Santa Anna was 
expected every day at the island. The captain declined to attempt to cross the bar 
until there was a change of wind; and while waiting, the messenger arrived with the 
news. The two soldiers who accompanied the party found their families, and Calder 
found the object of his most anxious solicitude. 

Alter changing his clothes, Captain Calder was strolling, unknown, among the 
men eagerly talking over the wonderful achievements of the 21st, when he heard such 
complimentary remarks as these : '• What ! the whole Mexican army defeated, and 
Santa Anna a prisoner! No, gentlemen; those fellows are scoundrels and deserters. 
It is too big a story, and they ought to be taken into custody at once." 



522 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

Cameron, Dr. John. — An Emprcsario, who obtained a grant for colon- 
izing a large scoiie of conntry on Red river. He had been for some time a 
citizen of Mexico. Decree Number 13, September 10th, 1827, declared him 
to be a " Coahuil-Texan," (a citizen of Coahuila and Texas). In 1835 he 
was a Secretary in the Executive Department of the Government at Mon- 
clova; and when Cos dispersed the Legislature, Cameron was taken prison- 
er with Milam and others. They contrived to make their escape, and reach- 
ed Texas in safety. Cameron assisted in the capture of San Antonio, and 
at Cos' surrender acted as Spanisli interpreter. He became a resident of 
the valley of the Rio Grande, and in the contest which arose between the 
"Rohos" and " Crinolinos," in 1861, he was killed in one of their fights. 

Carson, Samuel P. — Once represented a district of North Carolina in 
the United States Congress. He was in Texas at the organization of the 
Government ad interim, and became Secretary of State. His health was 
feeble, and he resigned and went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he died 
in 1838. 

Castrillon. — One of the bravest and most skillful of Santa Anna's oflB.- 
cers, in 1836. He commanded the division that successfully scaled the walls 
of the fortress of the Alamo. Tlie brave are humane, and Castrillon pleaded 
earnestly for the lives of the three or four Texans found alive in the Alamo, 
after all resistance had ceased. It was in vain ! At San Jacinto, Castril- 
lon commanded the column ordered to support the Mexican cannon. When 
the panic ensued, and he found it impossible to rally his men, he refused to 
fly with the others; but folding his arms, he stood erect, and received that 
death which, to him, was preferable to dishonor. 

Castro, Henry. — The pioneer of that portion of Western Texas situated 
west of the city of San Antonio, was born in France, in July, 1786, of rich 
parents, and descended of one tlie oldest Portuguese families; one of his 
ancestors, Zoao of Castro, having been fourth Viceroy of the Indies for the 
King of Portugal. In 1805, at the age of nineteen, he was selected by the 
Prefect of his department (Landes) to welcome the Emperor Napoleon, on 
the occasion of his visit to that department. In 1806, he was one of the 
guard of honor that accompanied Napoleon to Spain. In 1814, being an 
officer in the first legion of the National Guards of Paris, he fought with 
Marshal Moncey at the gate of Clichy. Having emigrated to tlie United 
States, after the fall of Napoleon, in May, 1827, he was Consul at the port 
of Providence for the King of Naples, having become an American citizen, 
by choice, tlie same year. He returned to France in 1838; was the partner 
of Mr. Lafitte, and took an active part in trying to negotiate a loan for the 
Republic of Texas. In 1812 he was appointed, in consideration of the ser- 
vices he had rendered to tlie Republic of Texas, Consul General of Texas 
at Paris Having received large grants of lands under certain conditions 
of colonization, ho immediately proceeded to comply Avith his contract, and, 
after 'great exp'Miso and labor, succeeded in bringing to this State four hun- 
dred and eighty-five families and four hundred and ]^il'ty-seveu single men, 




THOMAS F. McKINNEY. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 525 

in tweBty-seven ships, from the year 1843 to 1846. He encountered much 
opposition from the French Government, which was trying to procure emi- 
grants for the colony of Algiers, and much expense on account of the Mex- 
ican war. His first settlement was established on the Medina, in Septem- 
ber 1844, and was called Castroville, now a flourishing little town, situated 
in one of the most beautiful and healthy portions of Texas. In 1845, he 
settled the town of Quihi; in 1846, that of Vandenburg; in 1847, that of 
Dhanis, all of which settlements are now in a prosperous condition. The 
colony lands, which were all in Bexar county formerly, now form the 
counties of Medina, Frio, part of McMullen, Lasalle and Uvalde. He pub- 
lished many memoirs on Texas, both in the French and German languages, 
and also map-, which were principally circulated in the Rhine provinces, 
and greatly aided in procui'ing emigration to this country. 

He was a man of great energy and of rare aptitude for labor. He devel- 
oped the country and received the most flattering testimonials from the 
most prominent persons of the United States. He was a corresponding 
member of the Washington Institute ; and a great friend and admirer of 
General Houston. He was on his way to visit the grayes of his family, in 
France, when death overtook him, in Monterey, Mexico. 

Cazneau, William L. — A native of Boston ; came to Texas in 1830 ; in 
1835 was on the statf of General Chambers ; and was for a number of years 
connected with the i-egular army, and was Commissary General during 
Lamar's administi-atiou. In 1841, repi'esented Travis county in Congress. • 
The next year he was active in preventing the archives from being removed 
from Austin ; served through the Mexican war ; was afterward appointed 
by President Pierce Consul General to Dominica; and was a confidential 
agent of the U. S. Government, in negotiations for the Bay of Samaua; 
and died in Jamaica in 1876. 

Chalmers, Dr. John G. — Was Secretary of War under Lamar; and was 
killed in Austin in 1847, by Mr. Holden. 

Chambers, Thomas Jefferson. — A native of Virginia; in 1826 he visited 
Mexico and spent three years studying the language and institutions of the 
country. In 1829, he was appointed by the authorities at Saltillo, Surveyor 
General of Texas, but seems never to have undertaken the duties of the 
office. In 1836, in conjunction with Padilla, he obtained an empresario 
contract for introducing 800 families of colonists. Decree No. 245, issued 
January 8th, 1834, admits him to practice law, an examinatiou having been 
dispensed with. Soon afterward, decree No. 277 creates a Supreme C »urt 
in Texas, and appoints Mr. Chambers Superior Judge. The law is very 
specific, prescribing the habiliments of the Judge. His gown should be 
" black or dark blue, and a white sash, with gold tassels." The Judge 
hastened to San Felipe with the bill for his court, but untoward circum- 
stances prevented him from holding it, until the breaking out of the revolu- 
tion. In 1836, when Texas was threatened with invasion. Judge Chambers 
appeared before the Executive Council and proposed to loan the Govern- 



626 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ment $10,000 ; and further proposed to visit the United States and expend 
the same in procuring men and munitions of war. The Council accepted 
his proposition, and commissioned him Major-General of the resei-ve. 
General Chambers had no ready mone\^, but exf>ected to obtain his supplies 
by hypothecating his lands. According to the report of Mr. Borden the 
first Commissioner of the' Land Office, Mr. Chambers had received five 
leagues of land for his services as Surveyor General ; sixteen leagues for 
his services as Supreme Judge ; and five leagues each from Jose Manuel 
Berks and Alexander de la Garza. On these lands he realized a considera- 
ble amount of means. In his report to Congress, June 3d, 1837, he stated 
that he had sent to Texas 1,915 men, and expended of his own money 
$23,621, and had sold bonds amounting to $9,035. On the 12th of June, 
Congress passed a bill approving his course, and directed the auditor to 
settle with him. At a subsequent period, he settled in Chambers county, 
and represented it in the Secession Convention in 1861. He was several 
times an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Texas. He was killed 
while sitting in his own house in 1865. No clue was ever obtained as to 
the perpetrator of the murder. 

Childress, George C. — A lawyer by profession; member of the Conven- 
tion of 1836 ; chairman of the committee that drew up the Declaration of 
Independence, and author of that declaration. He died by his own hands 
in 1810. He was boarding at Mrs. Crittenden's, and early one morning, 
presented himself at her door, before the lady was up, and begged her in 
piteous terms to save him from himself. Just as the lady opened her door, 
he plunged the fatal dagger to his ©wn heart, the blood bespattering her 
dress. A letter in his room stated that pecuniaxy losses by his brother, in 
gaming, had prompted the fatal deed. 

Chriesman, Horatio. — Was born in Virginia in 1792. In early life he 
removed first to Kentucky and then to Missouri, where he engaged in sui*- 
veying. In 1818, he married Miss Mary Kincheloe, and in the fall of 1821 
prepared to emigrate to Texas with the Kincheloe family They embarked 
on boats to descend the river, but winter coming on, they remained until 
the next spring; when Mr. Kincheloe preceded the party to New Orleans, 
where he chartered the schooner " Only Son," Capt. Ellison, and sent five 
or six young men to the Colorado to make corn. Mr. Chriesman, with the 
families of Kincheloe, Eawls and Prewett, left St. Louis in a Hat boat, Feb- 
ruary 25tli, 1822. At New Madrid the party was detained by sickness, and 
Mrs. Chriesman and her sister died. Being detained again at the mouth of 
the Red river, by continued sickness, some of the men who were well took 
a boat-load of bacon up lied river to Alexandaia. All the river trade was 
then carried on in flat-boats. Arriving at New Orleans, Mr. Kincheloe again 
chartered the " Only Sou " to convey them to Texas. They landed at the 
mouth of the Colorado, June 9th. A few days later, another vessel with 
immigrants landed at the same place. The supplies brought by both boats 
were left in charge of four young men. while the families went up to "Whar- 
ton, where Mr. Kincheloe had raised a supply of corn. The young men 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICES. 527 

left at camp were killed by the Caranchua Indians, and the goods destroyed 
or stolen. In 1823, Mr. Chriesnian assisted in making a crop at the Clay 
place, near Independence. 

When Colonel Austin returned from Mexico, Mr. Chriesnian was 
appointed Surveyor for the county. The tirst tract surveyed was for 
Josiah H. Bell; the tract afterward settled by Amos Gates, five miles 
below "Washington, on the Brazos river. Mr. Chriesmau held the office of 
surveyor until the Revolution. His assistants were Ross Alley, Bartlet 
Sims, Seth Ingram, Wm. Selkirk, Thos. S. Borden, Moses Cummings and 
John S. Mooney, in Austin's colony. In Robertson's colony, F. W. John- 
son and Wm. Moore. In 1825, Mr. Chriesman married the second time. 
His choice fell upon Miss Augusta Hope. As tliere were no priests to 
perform the ceremony, and magistrates were not authorized to do so, they 
wei'e married by bond befoi-e Mr. Cole, the Alcalde. While holding the 
office of surveyor, he was appointed a Captain of the militia, and partici- 
pated in a good many Indian fights and skirmishes. In 1835, when the 
Texans invested San Antonio, he was a member of Captain Swisher's com- 
pany, but was detailed to convey intelligence to the Government at San 
Felipe, and was thus absent when the city capitulated. Subsequently, Gen. 
Houston placed him on detached service to assist in the removal of families, 
so he was not at San Jacinto. He also, at an early period, filled the office 
of Alcalde at San Felipe. As an illusti-ation of the hardships endured by 
early pioneers, we give an incident which occurred the year he made a 
crop at Independence : Having a few days leisure, he visited the family of 
Mr. Whitesides, on the east side of the Brazos. He found Mr. Whitesides 
absent on a trip to the East, and his family without meat or bread. With 
his trusty rifle, he soon secured a good supply of venison. As a further 
illustration of the generosity of the old Texans, we have heard an anecdote 
of Captain Chriesmau. At a period when land was cheap and plentiful, 
his friend. Dr. M., needed a league of land to give in exchange in some 
trade he was consummating. Capt. Chriesmau, without a word, loaned him 
the league of land. As it was never very convenient for the doctor to 
replace it, the debt remains still uncancelled. Up to the period of annexa- 
tion, Capt. Chriesman lived at the Gay Hill neighborhood, in Washington 
county. He subsequently removed into Burleson county. Mrs. Chriesman 
died iwany years since, and the old gentleman died at the residence of his 
8on-in-law, Thomas C. Thomson, Esq. in Burleson county, in November, 
1878. 

Coke, Richard.— Was born in Virginia, in 1829 ; graduated at William 
and Mary College; and studied law. In 1850, immigrated to Texas and 
settled at Waco, which is still his home. In 1865, he was appointed Dis- 
trict Judge, and the next year was elected one of the Associate Justices of 
the Supreme Court. He was elected (Jrovcrnor in 1873, and on the adop- 
tion of the new Constitution, was re-elected in 1876. A few days after his 
eecond inauguration as Governor, he was elected to the United States Sen- 
ate; and on the first of December, 1876, he relinquished the executive 
•office, and in March following, took his scat in the Senate, 



528 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Cole, John P. — One of the first settlers in Washington county ; was 
Alcalde from 1828 until the revolution; and the first Chief Justice of the 
county. In 1840 he represented the county in Congress. He died in 1846, 
and his widow in 1873. 

CoLKMAX, IloiiEUT M. — Was a Colonel in the army of the Republic, and 
in command on the Colorado. He was drowned at Velasco, in 1838. He 
was in the Convention in 1836. One year after his death, his widow and 
son were killed by the Indians, at their home on the Colorado. 

CoLLixswORTii, James. — Was a native of Tennessee; and had filled the 
ofiice of United States District Attorney, before coming to Texas. He was 
a member of the Convention in 1836 ; and after the adjournment of the 
Convention was sent as a commissioner to the United States. In 1838 he 
was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic ; and about the same time 
became a candidate for President. During the canvass, which was waxing 
warm and bitter, he drowned himself, by throwing himself ofi" a steamer iu 
Galveston bay. 

Cooke, William G. — Came to Texas from Virginia. Having been elected 
a Captain of the New Orleans Grays in that city, he arrived at San Antonio^ 
November 8th, 1835, and participated in the capture of the city, being one 
of the party that stormed the Priest's house. At San Jacinto he was on 
Houston's statr. In 1837 he commenced the drug business in Houston. la 
1839 he was Quartermaster-General; in 1840, one of the comniis<ioners 
sent by President Lamar with the Santa Fe expedition. In 1844 he 
married Miss Navarro, of San Antonio, and represented Bexar county in 
Congress. After annexation, he was Adjutant-General during Henderson's 
administration, and died near Seguiu iu 1847. 

Cook, Lewis P. — Came to Texas with the New York battallion, in 1836; 
was Secretary of tho Navy in 1839. Having been accused of killing young 
Peyton, in Washington, he went to the Rio Grande; was a sutler iu Tay- 
lor's army in 1846. He and his wife died of cholera, in 1849. 

CoRDERO, Antonio. — Was Governor of Texas in 1806. He was one oi 
the officers brought from Spain by de Galves, to reform the administration 
in Spanish America. He was with Ilerrera on the Sabine, and disapproved 
the pacific arrangement which the latter entered into with Wilkinson. 
Pike, who enjoyed Cordero's hospitality, in San Antonio, in 1807, speaks of 
hiin as '' an accomplished gentleman, universally beloved and respected, 
and by far the most popular man iu the internal provinces." He spoke the 
Latin and French languages well ; was generous, gallant, brave, and sin- 
cerely attached to his king and country. He was one of the victims of the 
horrid butchery at San Antonio, iu April, 1813. 

Cortina, Juan N. — Is a native of Comargo, but spent his early life on a 
rauche on the Texas side of the Rio Grande. In 1859 a difficulty occurred 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 529 

at his mother's ranche, and he left Texas aud became a partizan leader in 
Mexico. Witli a party of his men, in October 1859, he crossed the river 
into Brownsville, and committed murders and other depredations ; but was 
soon driven back. His next attempt was to capture the steamboat Rancho. 
In this he was thwarted by the vigilance of Colonel Ford, of the 
Rangers. He was severely chastised by the troops under Ford and Heintzle- 
man, of the United States ai-my. In 1861, Cortina with several hundred 
men crossed the Rio Grande and burned Roma. In 1863, he was a General 
in the ranks of the Rohos at Matamoras; in 1871, a General under Juarez, 
and Acting Governor of Tamaulipas. In 1872, he was indicted in Browns- 
ville for cattle-stealing; in 1875, Mayor of Matamoras, and General in the 
Mexican army. For refusing to obey orders, he was arrested and conveyed 
to Mexico. In 1877, he was released, and he returned to his old haunts on 
the Rio Grande, but was soon re-arrested. 

Cos, Martin Perfecto de. — "Was a revolutionary leader under Morelos, 
in 1811. In 1835, he was sent by Santa Anna, his brother-in-law, to the 
command of the Eastern internal provinces. In May he dispersed the 
Legislature in session at Monclova ; and in September, with five hundred 
men, came to Texas by water, landing at Matagorda bay. He advanced to 
San Antonio, where he established his headquarters. One of his first des- 
potic acts was to demand the surrender of a number of patriots, who had 
become especially odious to Santa Anna. They were not given up. This 
demand aroused the Texans to resistance, and he soon found himself shut 
up in the city by the army of Austin. Cos surrendered to Bui'leson on 
the eleventh of December, he and his men giving their parole not to serve 
again against Texas, during the present war. Cos returned with Santa 
Anna in the spring, and commanded one of the attacking columns, in the 
assault upon the Alamo ; but failed to efi'ect an entrance to the fort, until 
the column under Castiillon had made a breach in the wall. Cos was left 
behind in the advance to San Jacinto, but arrived with his division on the 
morning of the battle. During the Mexican war in 1847, he was in com- 
mand in Tuspan. 

Crockett, David.— An ex-member of Congress from Tennessee, who 
came to Texas in 1835. At Nacogdoches, when required to take the oath 
of allegiance to the new government, or any other which might be estab- 
hshcd in Texas, he declined to subscribe it until the word " republican" 
was inserted. He was one of the victims of the Alamo. Several dend 
Mexicans were lying near his body. Colonel Crockett's widow came to 
Texas after, annexation, and died in Johnson county, in 1866. 

Darnell, Nicholas II.— During the Republic he represented San Augus- 
tine in Congress, and was Speaker of the House. He was a member of the 
Convention in 1845, and a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor at the first 
election for State ofiicers. The vote between himself and Ilorton was very 
close, and the returns came in slowly, and when the Legislature met, it 
appeared that Darnell was elected, and he was accordingly inaugurated ; 



530 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

but subsequent returns coming in frona the west, changed the majority to 
his opponent, and Darnell promptly resigned, and Horton became Lieu- 
tenant-Governor. He was in the Legislature in 1861, and dnring part of 
the term. Speaker of the Honse. In 1874, he was Sergeant-at-arms of the 
House of Representatives ; and a member of the Constitutional Convention 
in 1875. 

Davenport, Samuel. — One of the first Americans who settled in Texas. 
This was in 1799. He applied for and received letters of citizenship, as a 
Spanish subject. He was a man of enterprise and wealth, and a leader of 
society at Nacogdoches. He acted as quartermaster to Magee's expedition, 
in 1812 ; but declined to co-operate with the Fredonian movement in 1826. 

Davis, Edmund J. — A native of Florida ; came to Texas in 1848 : 1850-52,. 
deputy Collector of Customs on the Kio Grande ; 1853, District Attorney; 
1855 to 1860, District Judge. After the breaking out of the civil war, Judge 
Davis left Texas and entered the Federal lines. In 1862, he raised a regi- 
ment of cavalry for the Union army; was promoted to the rank of Briga- 
dier-General in 1864. At the close of the war he returned to Texas, and 
was elected to the first Reconstruction Convention, in 1866; was also a 
member and President of the second Reconstruction Convention. In No- 
vember, 1869, the Government of the State was in the hands of the military. 
By order of General Reynolds, an election was held for Governor and State- 
oflScers. Judge Davis was declared elected, and became Governor, January 
18, 1870, and held the oflice until January 13, 1874. At the expiration of 
his ofiicial term, he resumed the practice of law in the city of Austin, 

Davis, H. Clay. — A prominent citizen of Western Texas; was Collector 
of Customs on the Rio Grande, and served one term in the State Senate. At 
the breaking out of the civil war, he entered the Confederate service and 
rose to the rank of Brigadier, but died before the war closed. 

Dawson, Nicholas H., Defeat of. — When Woll entered San Antonio, 
in 1842, Lieutenant Dawson, who had been in the battle of San Jacinto, 
raised a company in Fayette county, to reinforce the Texans in the West. 
He arrived in the neighborhood of the Salado creek September 17th, the 
day of the battle between Woll and Caldwell. While trying to lead his 
men to the Texan camp, he was discovered and surrounded by an over- 
whelming Tuxmber of the Mexicans as they were retreating from the battle 
ground to the city of San Antonio. After about one-half of his mei^ had 
been either killed or wounded, Dawson raised a white flag; it was fired 
upon and the fight renewed. Dawson behaved with the utmost gallantry, 
but seeing the hopelessness of continuing the unequal combat, he surren- 
dered his pistol to a Mexican oflScer. After having thus disarmed himself, a 
Mexican lancer assaulted him, when the heroic soldier seized and would 
have slain his assailant, but other lancers coming up, put him to death. Of 
the fifty-three men in his company, thirty-iiu-ee were slain in battle; tifteen 
surrendered, five of whom were wounded ; two escaped unhurt, one of 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 531 

whom, Henry Gonsalvo Wood, had lost his father and his brother, and had 
given up his own arms, when a Mexican on horseback attacked him. He 
disarmed the lancer, killed him and escaped on his horse. Poor Gunsalvo, 
after escaping that massacre, was killed by desperadoes, probably mistaking 
Mm for some one else, in 1869. Of those who surrendered, the following 
were sent to the castle of Perote: John Beard, James Shaw, Edward 
Mauton, William Trimble, J. E. Konnegy, Richard Barclay, Nat. W. 
Faison, Joel Robinson, Allen H. Morrell. These were released with the 
Mier prisoners. In September, 1848, the bones of Dawson's company 
were collected and taken to Fayette county, and buried with appropriate 
ceremonies, on Monument Hill, opposite the town of Lagrano-e. 

DeLeon, Martin.— An Empresario ; was a native of Tamaulipas. In 1810, 
he settled on the Nueces river,' and about 1823, at Victoria, on the Guada- 
lupe. His colonists were Mexicans, who settled on the Garcitas creek. 
Mr. DeLeon died of cholera, in 1834. 

DniiTT, Philip.— Came to Texas in 1822. Ten years later he estabUshed 
a trading house at the old fort built by LaSalle, on the Lavaca river. The 
place has been since known as Dimitt's Point. In 1835, he was in command 
of the Texans at Goliad, and took an active part in a public ineuliug which 
declared for the independence of Texas. In 1836, he was in command at 
Victoria, but retreated on the approach of Urrea, and thus escaped the fate 
of F:iimin. In 1841, he prepared to engage in mercantile business on the 
Nueces river, fifteen miles from Corpus Christi. Before his house was 
finished, he and his companions were taken prisoners by a raiding party of 
Mexicans. They were carried first to Matamoras ; then to Mont'erey, and 
were started to the city of Mexico. At Agua Nueva they made their escape 
from the guard, but were soon retaken. Seeing no hope of escaping from a 
horrible imprisonment, Dimitt terminated his Ufe by taking morphine. 

Duval.— Three brothers of this name, sons of Governor Duval, of Flo- 
rida, have figured in our history. B. C. Duval was one of the unfortunate 
victims of the Fannin massacre. 

Duval, John C— Was one of Fannin's men, who, when led out to be shot 
was unhurt at the first fire, but fell down and feigned death until he saw 
an opportunity to escape. He has written some semi-fictitious tales, giving 
life-like and graphic descriptions of soldier life on the frontii'r. 

DfjVAL, Thomas H.— A lawyer who settled in Austin, when that city be- 
came the permanent capital of the State. In 1857, wiien the Western Judi- 
cial District was formed, he was appointed United States District Jud-'e, 
an office he still holds. ° 

Edwards, Hayden.— An Empresario, who attempted to introduce colo- 
nists into Eastern Texas. His conti-iict was annulled by Governor lilaiico, 
October 2U, 1826. Though the Fredouiaus were for a time driven from 



532 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Texas, Edwards returned after the Revolution, and at one time represented 
his district in the Texas Congress. His brother, Benjamin W. Edwards, 
was raising a company in Mississippi, lor the Texas army, in 1836, when he 
heard of tlio battle of San Jacinto. In 1837, lie was a candidate for Gov- 
ernor of Mississippi, but died during the canvass. 

Edwards, Monrok. — First appeared in Texas as a merchant's clerk, at 
Anahuac, where he was arrested and kept in custody by Bradburn. In 
1840, he introduced a cargo of African negroes into the country. His part- 
ner, Mr. Dart, charged him with forgerj% and he was arrested, but made his 
escape. He next appeared in England as a philanthropist, laboring to secure 
the emancipation of the slaves whom he introduced into Texas. On his 
return to the United States, he was convicted of forgery, and sent to Sing 
Sing prison. New York, where he died in 1847. 

Elisondo, Y. — Was at one time associated with the patriot Hidalgo, of 
Mexico, but afterwards betrayed and shot his leader. In 1813, he brought 
a Spanish army to San A'.itonio, to defeat the Republicans. In the battle of 
Alasan, June 5th, he was totally defeated. He again returned to Texas 
with the army of Arredondo Elisondo was sent, after the battle of Medina, 
in pursuit of the fugitive Republicans. At the Trinity he found some seventy 
or eighty unable to cross the river. These he cruelly put to death. 

Ellis, Richard. — Was a prominent citizen on Red river, and represented 
that municipality in the Convention of 1836, and was the President of that 
body. There was, however, some doubt as to which government the Red 
river country belonged, and to be certain to have representation at the i-ight 
place, Mr. Ellis's son, who lived in the house with him, represented the 
same district in the Arkansas Legislature, as a citizen of Miller county, 
Arkansas. Mr. Ellis died in 1849. 

Evans, Lemuel Dale. — A native of Tennessee, came to Texas in 1843, 
and settled in Fannin countj^, which he represented in the Annexation Con- 
vention, in 1845. In 1855, he was elected to Congress from the Eastern 
District. Dnriiig tjie Avar he espoused the Union cause. In 1868, he was 
in the Reconstruction Convention, .and in 1870, appointed Cliief Justice of 
the Supreme Court. His term expired in 1873. In 1875, he was United 
St:ites Marshal at Galveston. He died in the city of Wasliiugton, July 1st, 
1877. 

Fannin, James W. — A mournful interest attaches to the name of Fannin, 
lie was a native of Georgia, and received a military education at West 
Point. He came to Texas in the fall of 1834, with money furnished partly 
by friends, to purchase slaves and open a plantation. When the difficulty 
about the cannon occurred at Gonzales, he raised a company called the 
" Brazos Guards," and hastened to the West. He continued in the service, 
and it was Fannin's company that was sent forward from the Espada Mis- 
sion to select a camping-ground nearer San Antonio, and which fought the 




JOHN CALDWELL. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 535 

battle of Concepcion. In that fight Fannin won the admiration of the 
army, and the title of " the hero of Concepcion." At the reorganization of 
the army after Austin's resignation, the Executive Council at San Felipe 
selected Fannin and Rusk as recruiting officers, and agents to collect men 
and munitions of war. Rusk was sent east and Fannin west of the 
Trinity.* 

On the 21st of December, Houston ordered Fannin to establish his head- 
quarters at Velasco. In the meantime, the Council had, without consulting 
the Commandei*-in-Chief, greatly enlarged his authority as agent, and had 
directed him to collect forces at, or near Copano, for a descent upon Mata- 
moras. 

January 8th, 1836, Fannin, at Velasco, isssued an address calling for vol- 
unteers. He announced that " an expedition to the West had been ordered 
by the General Council, and the volunteers from Bexar, Goliad, Velasco, 
and elsewhere, were ordered to rendezvous at San Patricio, between the 
24th and 27tli instant, and report to the ofiicer in command.. The fleet con- 
voy will sail from Velasco under my charge on or about the eighteenth, and 
all who feel disposed to join it and aid in keeping the enemy out of Texas, 
and at the same time cripple the enemy in their resources at home, are 
invited to enter the ranks forthwith." There was at this time an inextrica- 
ble confusion both in the civil and military affairs of the country. The 
Governor and Executive Council were at loggerheads. The Governor had 
been deposed by the Council, but declined to surrender his ofiice. Both 
Governor Smith and Lieutenant-Governor Robinson assumed to exercise 
Executive functions, and both issued' orders to army officers, frequently 
contradictory. General Houston recognized the authority of Smith, and 
Fannin acted under orders from Robinson and the Council. 

Governor Smith had, on the 17th of December, ordered Houston to make 
a demonstration upon Matamoras, and on the same day Houston ordered 
Bowie, then at Goliad, to organize a force for this purpose. To add to the 
confusion, the Executive Council also ordered Colonels F. ^Y. Johnson and 
James Grant to lead an expedition against the same place. Here then, were 
three independent commands organizing for the same purpose. Houston 
arrived at Goliad about the middle of January and proceeded on to Refu- 
gio, where he learned, for the first time, of the expeditions of Fannin and 
Johnson and Grant. He considered that his authority as Commander-in- 
Chief had been superseded, and he allowed the citizens of Refugio to elect 
h^m to the Convention, and immediately returned to the Brazos. Fannin 



* December 10th, 1835, the Council appointed the followiog persons as assistants of 
Colonel Fiinnin in collecting supplies for the volunteer army : For Cole's settlement, 11. 
Chriesman; Washington,' John Lott; New Year's Creek, Philip Coc; Mill Creek, Sam- 
uel Pettus; San Felipe, Mosel}^ Baker; Colorado, J. S. Losler and Jesse Burnham; 
Navidad, William Thompson and Elijah Stapp; Menifee, (Eg.vpt), Thomas liabb; Fort 
Settlement, (Richmoml), Randall Jones; East of Brazos, E. Waller; Lake Creek, 
James J. Foster; Ilarnsburg, E. Malhieu; Columbia, W. D. C. Ilall; Brazoria, J. L. 
D. Bvrom; Bay Prairie, Daniel Ruwls and R, II. Williams; Gonzales, William A. 
Matthews; Spring Creek, Abraham Roberts; and for Mina (Bastrop), L. C. Cunning- 
ham. 

30 



536 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

arrived at Goliad about tlie first of Februarj^, and soon afterwards an 
organization of the volunteers took place. Most of the men were from 
Geoi'gia, and Fannin was elected Colonel, and AYard Lieutenant-Colonel. 
Notwithstanding this election and his appointment by the Council, Fannin 
still doubted his authority to command. In a letter to Governor Robinson, 
dated February 14th, he says: " I hope soon to receive some intelligence 
from General Houston, and to see him at the head of the army. I am deli- 
cately situated, having received no orders from him, or your Excellency. I 
am well aware that during the General's furlough the command naturally, 
and of right, devolves on me ; but the fact has not been communicated to 
me officially, either by the General or the Governor. The steps I have 
taken are those of prudence and for defence, and would be allowed as 
Colonel of the volunteers. May I ask for orders, and a regular communi- 
cation from you, that I may be fully apprised of what is doing for us? I 
will obey orders, if I am sacrificed in the discharge of them ; but if you 
are unable to afi"ord us reasonable aid, and that in time, it would be best to 
destroy everything and fall back." On the 16th he Avrote again, as follows : 
'* If General Houston does not return to duty on the expiration of his fur- 
lough, audit meets your appx'obation, I shall make headquarters at Bexar, 
and take with me such of the forces as can be spared." He wrote to Gov- 
ernor Robinson again on the 22d: "I am critically situated. General 
Houston is absent on furlough, and neither myself nor army have received 
any oi'ders as to who should assume command. It is my right, and in many 
respects I have done so, when I was convinced the public good required 
it." These extracts prove conclusively that Fannin was more than willing 
to occupy a subordinate position ; and in view of subsequent events, they 
have a peculiar interest. He has even since his death been accused of act- 
ing contrary to the orders of the Commander-inChief ; and we have thought 
it necessaryto give these facts in vindication of his character. His position 
was extremely embarrassing. His authority was not recognized by all the 
oflficers at Goliad, Captain Dimitt wrote to the Council, suggesting the 
appointment of General Zavalla to the command. When this appointment 
was not made, Dimitt and his compa^^y retreated to Victoria, in obedience, 
as he said, to orders from Houston. 

Undoubtedly, Fannin's intention was to I'etreat before the advancing 
Mexicans, as he had intimated to Governor Robinson; and when he was 
advised of the advance of Urrea, he ordered San Patricio evacuated. This 
order was not obeyed, and Yoakum says it was because Colonels Johnson 
and Grant, who were there, had independent commands, and did not recog- 
nize Famiin's authority over them. Besides this question of authority, 
Fannin had a serious distrust of his own ability; a distrust very remarka- 
ble, not to say unparallelled in military men. In one of his letters to Robin- 
son he says: '"I am not practically an experienced commander, and may, 
and in all human probability, have erred. I do not desu-e any command, 
and particularly that of chief. I feel, I know, if you and the Council do 
not, that I am incompetent. Fortune and brave soldiers may favor ine, and 
save the State, and establish for me a reputation far beyond my deserts.'' 
Again: " I am a better judgi^ of my military abilities than others, and if I 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.. 537 

^m qualified to command an army, I have not found it out. I -well know I 
am a better company ofiicer tlian most now in Texas, and might do, with 
regulars, for a regiment, but this does not constitute me a commander." 

When, on that fatal Palm Sunday after the battle of Colita, he was march- 
ed out with his comi-ades to slaughter, Fannin was told that if he would 
kneel his life miglit be spared. He replied that he had no desire to live 
after his men had been killed. A soldier attempted to tie a handkerchief 
over his eyes. He seized the handkerchief and tied it himself. To the 
officer in command he handed his watch, with a request that it might be 
sent to his family; and he made one further request: that he might be shot 
in the breast and not in the head; and further, wished to be decently 
buried. Having made these requests, he deliberately took his position in a 
chair, and bared his bosom; the signal was given, and the gallant Texan 
leader was a lifeless corpse ! With a perfidy which language is hardly 
adequate to portray, the officer kept Fannin's watch ; had him shot in the 
head, and left his body unburied! 

As a commander, Fannin distrusted himself and made serious mistakes 
— mistakes for which he paid with his life ; still the views he expressed in 
his correspondence were eminently correct and praiseworthy. To the 
•Georgia volunteers he wrote, advising them to have nothing to do with the 
poHtical squabbles of Texas until after the war, when they would become 
peaceful and permanent citizens. He wrote to the Council deploring the 
fact that there were so fbw Texansin the army, but requested that those sent 
might be infantry, and organized before they reached headquarters, as 
■elections in camp were very demoralizing. To Colonel ISTail, at Bexar, he 
wrote suggesting the propriety of withdrawing the cannon from -that 
exposed position. He also suggested to the Council the propriety of evacu- 
ating both Goliad and Bexar, and establishing a line of defense on tlie east 
side of the Guadalupe river. He further gave it as his opinion that if Santa 
Anna entered the country with five thousand men, he would penetrate to 
the interior of the country, and probably cross the Brazos before his pro- 
gress could be arrested. 

The tender sohcitude which Fannin expressed for the welfare of his 
family, shows him to have been a man of strong domestic attachments. He 
was modest, brave, generous, and patriotic. Among the Texas martyrs to 
Hberty, the name of Fannin will occupy a conspicuous place. Texans of 
future ages will hold it in profound veneration; and his memory will be 
cherished by all, in every clime, who appreciate soldierly daring and moral 
worth. 

The bodies of flie victims of the horrible massacre were left nnburiod. 
though partially burned up in a brush fence. Late in the suninier, w iuMi 
the Texan army under Eusk occupied Goliad, their bones were collected 
and buried Avith proper funeral rites. 

Dr. Shackelford, Captain of the Ked Rovers, from Alabama, in reviewing 
the events of this disastrous campaign, says Fainiin erred in sending off 
King and Ward, and thus giving the enemy a chance to cut liim up in 
detail. Fannin erred again in not retreating more rapidly and i)lacing the 
Guadalupe river between himself and the enemy . The Doctor further 



538 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

states that Fannin, as well as many others in the command, had too great a 
contempt for the prowess of the Mexicans. They did not believe Urrea 
would venture to follow them. In answer to the question, " Why did they 
not retreat the night after the battle?" the Doctor said: " Their teams were 
either killed or scattered, and they could not transport their wounded, and 
would not leave them ; and they still hoped Horton would return from Vic- 
toria with reinforcements. They surrendered in good faith. Neither Fan- 
nin nor any one of his men would have surrendered except upon the pledge 
of being treated as prisoners of war in honorable warfare. The Mexicans 
were alone responsible for the subsequent violation of the terms of surren- 
der and the bloody massacre." 

As the Texas people of all coming time will feel a profound interest in 
the bloody holocaust at Goliad, we subjoin Dr. Shackelfoi'd's account of the 
horrible massacre : 



"The dawn of day, Palm Sunday, March 27th, we were awakened by a Mexican offi- 
cer calling us up, aud sayiug he wanted the men to form a line that they might be 
counted. On hearing this, my impression was that, in all probability, some poor fellows 
had made their escape during the night. After leaving the church, I was met by Colo- 
nel Guererro, said to be an Adjutant-General of the Mexican army, who requested that 
Ishouldgoto his headquarters, in company with Major Miller and his men, (Miller 
had been taken at Copano, but without arms, hence not put to death), and that I would 
take my friend and companion, Dr. Joseph H. Barnard with me. We accordingly Avent 
to his tent, about one hundred yards in a southwest direction. On passing the fort I 
saw Ward's men in line with their knapsacks on. Inquired of them where they were 
going; some of them said they were to march to Copano, and from thence to be sent 
home. (The evening before they had been playing the tune, '^Home," on their flutes.) 
After reaching Colonel Guerrero's tent, to attend to some wounded, as we supposed, we 
sat down and engaged in familiar conversation. In about a half hour we heard the re- 
port of a volley of small arms, towards the river and to the east of the fort. I immedi- 
ately Inquired the cause of the firing, and was assured by the ofiicer that he did not 
know, but expected it was the guard firing off their guns. In fifteen or twenty minutes 
thereafter, another such volley was fired directly south of us and in front. At the 
same time I could distinguish the heads of some of the men through the boughs of some 
peach trees, and could hear their screams. It was then, for the first time, that the 
awful conviction seized upon our minds, that treachery and murder had begun its 
work. Shortly afterwards Colonel Guerrero appeared at the mouth of the tent. I asked 
him if it could be possible they were murdering our men ? He replied that it was so ; 
but he had not given the order ; neither had he executed it. He further said he had 
done all in his power to save as many as he could; and that if he could have saved 
more he would have done so. The men were taken out in four divisions, and under 
dilJ'erent pretexts— such as making room in the fort for the reception of Santa Anna? 
going out to slaughter beef, and being marched to Copano to be sent home. In about 
an hour, the closing scene of this base and treacherous tragedy was acted in the fort; 
and the cold-blooded murder of all the wounded who were unable to be marched out, 
was its infernal catastrophe. Fannin was the last victim. About eleven o'clock we 
were marched into the fort and ordered to the hospital. We had to pass by our butch- 
ered companions, who were stripped of their clothes, and their naked, mangled bodies 
thrown in a pile. The wounded were all hauled out i,n carts that evening, and some 
brush thrown over the difterent piles, with a view of burning their bodies. A few days 
afterwards I accompanied Major Miller to the spot where lay those who were dear to 
me while living; and whose memory will be embalmed in my afiection until this poor 
heart itself shall be cold in death — and oh ! what a spectacle ! The flesh had been 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 539 

•burned from off the bodies ; but many hands and feet were yet unscathed. I could 
recognize no one. The bones wore all still knit together, and the vultures were feed- 
ing upon those limbs which, one week before, were actively played in battle." 

Fields, Richard.— A half-breed Cherokee'chief, who, hi 1821-22, visited 
Mexico to make arrangeuients to settle the tribe in Texas. He was accom- 
panied by Bowles. They obtained a verbal promise of lands, and settled 
in what is now Cherokee county. These Indians were called civilized, and 
lived by cultivating- the soil. But the government was slow in giving them 
titles to their land, and Fields and some others joined the Fredonians, in 
1826. He was assassinated by those who refused to join the league. He 
was a Master-Mason. 

Fields, William.— A native of North Carolina, but came from Tennes- 
see to Texas in 1837 ; served in the Legislature from 1847 to 1855 ; in 1856 
was appointed State Engineer; and died in Hempstead, in 1858. He was 
the author of " Fields' Scrap Book." 

Fisher, S. Rhoads.— Was a native of Philadelphia; came to Texas in 
1831, and settled at Matagorda; represented that municipality in the Con- 
vention of 1836, and was appointed Secretary of the Navy. He died in 
Matagordn in 1839. 

Fisher, William S.— In 1835 represented Gonzales county in the Con- 
sultation ; commanded a company at the battle of San Jacinto ; in 1837 was 
Secretary of War; in March, 1810, was in command at San Antonio when 
the Comanche chiefs were killed in the Council House. In 1840 he joined 
the army of the Republic of the Rio Grande, at San Patricio, at the head of 
two hundred men. At the termination of that unsuccessful campaign he 
returned to Texas, and was elected Captain of a company in the Somervell 
campaign, in 1842. When Somervell left the Rio Grande, Fisher was elect- 
ed commander of the Mier expedition; was severely wounded at the battle 
of Mier, and died in 1845. 

Flores, Manuel.— a Lieutenant in Seguin's company at San Jacinto; 
afterwards at Nacogdoches, was concerned in at attempt to get up a rebel- 
lion against the Texas authorities; in 1839 he went to Matamoras, when 
General Canalizo employed him to visit the Indians on the Texas frontier, 
and rouse them to hostilities. He, with about twenty-tive Indians, was 
discovered. May 14th, on the Gabriel river, by a company of Rangers 
under Lieutenant James O. Rice. Flores was killed and his dispatches 
•captured. 

Ford, Dr. John S.— A native of South CaroUna; came to Texas in 1836; 
after serving in various capacities in the army, he, in 1843, commenced the 
practice of medicine in San Augustine ; in 1844 he was elected to Congress ; 
in 1846 he was Adjutant in Hays' regiment, and in connnand of a spy com- 
pany in the Mexican war; in 1849, in connection witli Major Neighbors, he 
Jaid out a road from San Antonio to El Paso and Santa Fe. He then re- 



540 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

sided in Austin, and in 1852, on the death of General Burleson, Ford was- 
elected to liis place in the Stajte Senate. In IboS he was in the Kaugiug ser- 
vice, and commaiuled a battalion which had a severe liglit with Indians on 
the Canadian river; about sixty Indians were killed. In 1860 61, he was 
in command on the Ilio Grande, and had several skirmishes with Cortina. 
During the war lie was employed in various capacities in tlie Confederate 
service on the Rio Grande. At the close of the war he started a paper at 
Brownsville, but was soon called to lead a company against border cattle 
and horse thieves. In 1873 he was cattle and hide inspector for Cameron 
county; in 1874, Mayor of Brownsville: in 1875, in the Constitutional Con- 
vention; in 1876, in the Senate from Brownsville. 

Franklin, B, C. — Was a member of Deaf Smith's spy company in 1836; 
fought as a private at San Jacinto, and was soon afterward appointed to a 
District Judgeship, by President Burnet. He was one of the first settlers 
on Galveston Island. He frequently served as District Judge, and also 
represented the county in the State Legislature. He was elected to the 
Senate from the Galveston district in 1873, but died before the Legislature 
met. 

Gaines, James. — A native of Virginia, and a relative of General E. P. 
Gaines; came to the Sabine river and established a ferry in tlie first years 
of the present century ; was a captain in Magee's army in 1812; but took 
sides against the Fredoniaus in 1825. He was a brother-in-law of Norris, 
the Alcalde deposed by the Edwards party. Gaines entered heartily into 
the Kevolution in 1836, and was a member of the Convention that declared 
the indepondence of Texas. Before the Revolution he had filled the oflice of 
sheriff and alcalde, and after the establishment of the Republic represented 
his district in Congress. About the time of annexation he removed to 
Bastrop, and in 18-49 to California, where he died. 

Galves, Don Jose Bernardo. — For whom our chief commercial city 
was named, was a native of Malaga, Spain. His father was viceroy of 
Mexico. In 1765, young De Galvez was appointed Visitor-General of New 
Spain. After a thorough inspection of the country, he projected many 
needed reforms in the administration, and unwilling to trust the officers 
already in the country to carry forward his reforms, he brought a number 
of accomplished Spaniards and entrusted them with the administration. 
Having returned to Spain, he was for a short time President of the Council 
of the Indies. In 1777 he was appointed Governor of Louisiana. This 
wa=5 during the American Revolution and De Galves strongly sympathized 
with the struggling colonists; and assisted in sending tiiem arms and 
ammunition up the Mississippi river. In 1779 Spain declared war against 
Great Britain, and De Galves immediately prepared to expel the Bi-itish 
fi'om West Florida. He captured Fort Bute on the fifth of September, and 
Baton Rouge on the 21st, thus extending the Spanish boundary to Pearl 
river. In March, 1780, he captured Mobile, taking possession of the coun- 
try as far as the Perdido, and completed the conquest by capturing Pensa 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 541 

cola on the ninth of May. His authority then extended from Florida to the 
Rio Grande ; and from the Gulf of Mexico almost to the great lakes. In 
1789 he was made Captain-General of Cuba and the two Floridas and 
Louisiana; but his father dying the same year, he was appointed viceroy of 
Mexico. He proved to be one of the most enlightened and liberal rulers 
that ever occupied the vice-regal throne in Spanish America. He intro- 
duced many reforms ; increased the number of judges, and created inten- 
dencies, an office especially designed for the protection of the Indian tribe?. 
This arrangement gave a species of local government to the people. Texas 
was then attached to theintendency of San Luis Potosi. It has been said 
that the Mexicans, restive under the Spanish yoke, were anxious to throw 
it off and to create De Galves their king; but that he, following the example 
of our own "Washington, declined the honor. An immense concourse at 
the Capital actually proclaimed him king, when he rode out into the crowd 
and prevailed on the people to disperse. As they did so, De Galvez cried 
out, " long live his Catholic Majesty, Charles IV." Another uprising in his 
favor in a distant province was also suppressed. During these excitements 
the viceroy erected an almost impregnable fortress at Chepultepec ; (after- 
ward captured by General Scott). Various reasons were assigned for this ; 
some thought he did it for a place of refuge in case of a popular uprising. 
He was not without enemies ; and they conjectured that he possibly medi- 
tated a revolution against the king, and prepared this castle as a place to 
raise the standard of revolt. He died very suddenly, in August, 1794, just 
after a hunting excursion. His friends believed he was poisoned by spies 
of the king, who was jealous of his influence with the populace. 

Ga IKS Family. — This family was originally from Kentucky, and settled 
in Miller county, Arkansas, in 1819, and in the fall of 1821 started for Aus- 
tin's colony in Texas; reached Nacogdoches December 27th, and continued 
their journey westward; found all the rivers fordable and reached the 
Brazos, in the neighborhood of Washington, early in January, 1822. At 
the crossing of the Trinity they overtook Andrew Robinson, who came to 
the Brazos and established a ferry. William Gates, senior, died in 1829; 
his sons, Charles and William, in 1822; Ransom in 1828, and Samuel in 
1836. Amos Gates settled six miles below the town of •Washington, on the 
first league of land surveyed in Austin's colony, Avhere he still lived in 
1877. 

GiDDiNGS Family. — Giles A. Giddings came from Pennsylvania to Texas 
in 1885, and was negotiating for an empresario contract wken the revolution 
broke out. He joined Houston's army at Groce's; was wounded at the 
battle of San Jacinto, and died soon afterwards, from the effects of the 
wound. 

GiDDiXGS, J. D.— Came to Texas in 1838, and settled in Washington 
county; was for a time connected with the army ; and was in Bogart's com- 
pany in the Somervell camyjaign ; he filled various offices, and represented 
Mb county in the Legislature in 1860 ; died in Brenham in 1878. 



542 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

GiDDiNGS, John James. — Came to Texas in 1846 ; was surveyor foi' the 
Gei'maii colony introduced that year into Texas ; while traveling on the 
overland stage, in 1861, when near Tucson, Arizona, the stage was sur- 
rounded by Indians, when the driver and he, with five other passengers, 
were killed. 

GiDDiNGS, George H. — Was one of the original proprietors of the over- 
land stage line. During the war was Lieutenant-Colonel in Ford's regi- 
ment; is still living. 

GiDDiNGs, Dr. Frank M. — Was killed by a desperado, in El Paso, in 

1858 

GroDiNGS, D. C. — Came to Texas in 1850; was in the Confederate array, 
with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, during the war ; was elected to Con- 
gress in 1870; was re-elected in 1872, and in 1876. 

Gillespie, James. — (In some reports spelled Gillaspie). A captain at San 
Jacinto ; afterwards in the Ranging service ; in 1846 he captured the town 
of Lai'edo; and was killed May the ninth, in the battle of Resaca de la 
Palma. 

Gillespie, R. A. — Came to Texas in 1837, and commenced a mercantile 
business in LaGrange ; in 1839 was in Jordan's expedition to the Rio Grande ; 
in 1840 in the battle of Plum Creek, and also in Colonel Moore's Indian 
campaign to the head waters of the Colorado ; in 1841 a Lieutenant in Tom 
Green's company of Rangers ; in 1842 with those Texans who drove Vas- 
quiz out of the country, and also in the Somervell campaign ; in 1844, while 
a leader of Green's company, was severely wounded in an Indian fight; in 
1846 he was a captain in Hays' regiment. He greatly distinguished himself 
at the battle of Monterey, where he led in a charge in which ten of the 
Mexican guns were captured. Subsequently, while leading a desperate 
charge on the Bishop's palace, Gillespie was mortally wounded. His re. 
mains, with those of Colonel Walker, were conveyed to San Antonio for 
interment. Gillespie county bears liis name. 

Grant, Dr. James. — A native of Scotland; became a naturalized citizen 
of Mexico. In 1825 he became a large landholder in the neighborhood of 
Parras. In company with Dr. J. C. Beales, he, in 1833, obtained an em- 
presario contract "for settling eight hundred families between the Nueces 
and llio Grande rivers. Fifty-nine of these colonists sailed from New 
York in the schooner Amos Wright, on the eleventh of November, 1833. 
On the sixth of December, the schooner entered Aransas pass. The com- 
pany proceeded with great difliculty, ria Goliad and San Antonio, towards 
their designated territory. They arrived at a little stream called the Las 
Mora?, on the-sixteenth of March, 1834, where a village called ** Dolores," 
was duly laid ofi" into streets. The name seemed prophetic; the village 
was never built up. and the settlement was soon abandoned. Dr. Grant 




O. M. ROBERTS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 545 

•was Secretary of the Executive Council of Coahuila, and in 1835 a member 
of the Legislature dispersed by General Cos. With a few companions, 
Grant made his way to San Antouio, and in command of a company of 
forty men, assisted Milam in the capture of the city. He was opposed to 
the declaration of Texas independence ; and even wanted Texas and Coa- 
huila to remain together, as he had large landed possessions in both States. 
Early in 1836, in company with Colonel F. W. Johnson, lie projected an 
expedition to the Rio Grande, to re-establish the Constitution of 1821. 
Grant went directly to Refugio, while Johnson went by San Felipe, 
and obtained the authority of the Executive"" Council for their scheme. 
They arrived in San Patricio early in February, with about seventy men. 
Johnson established his headquarters, while Grant, with Major Morris and 
about forty men, went further west to collect a supply of liorses. On the 
28th of February, San Patricio was captured by the Mexican soldiers of 
Urrea; Johnson and four companions escaping in the night. Grant and 
his party, who seem to have been totally ignorant of the advance of Urrea, 
were completely surprised by a party of Mexicans, while encamped on the 
Agua Dulce, twenty-six miles west of San Patricio. This was March 2d. 
Most of the Americans were killed in the fight, including Major Morris. As 
an item of curiosity we give Yoakum's account of the death of Grant. 
According to this statement. Grant was wounded and taken prisoner, but 
was able as a surgeon to dress the wounds of the Mexicans. "He was 
promised that as soon as he recovei'ed, and those under his care were con- 
valescent, he should have a passport to leave the country without molesta- 
tion. Ti:e Captain left in command of the town after the departure of 
Urrea, secretly dispatched eight men in search of a wild horse. The animal 
was captured about three weeks after the battle of the 2d of March. Grant 
was now brought forth, and by order of the Captain his feet were strongly 
bound to those of the horse, and his hands tied to the tail. ' Now,' said the 
Captain, <you have your passport, go.' At the same time the cords by 
which the mustang was tied were severed. The fiery animal, finding its 
hmbs unfettered, sprung away with great violence, leaving behind him, in a 
short distance, the mangled remains of poor Grant." General Urrea, in 
his account of these transactions, sa^-s Grant was killed in the action of the 
2d of March, and his statement is corroborated by that of Colonel Reuben 
Brown, of Brazoria county, one of the survivors of Grant's party. We 
subjoin Colonel Brown's account of the death of Grant: 

We had reached the Agua Dulce, within some twenty miles of San Patricio, and, in 
high spirits, we made an early start from tiiat place one morning ; Col. Grant, Placido 
Benevidas and myself being about lialf a mile ahead to lead the horses, and the rest of 
the company following. We were passing between two large raotts, when suddenly 
there came out from each of those motts several Imndred Mexican di-agoons, who quirk- 
ly closed in, surrounding both the horses and our party. Grant, Placido and myself 
might then have made our escape, as we were well mounted and some distance in ad- 
vance ; but our first nni)ulse being to relieve our party, we returned without rctlectmg 
upon the impossibility of doing any good against so large a number, for there were at 
least one thousand dragoons, under the immediate command of Urrea Jiim^elf. We 
then at once understood that Urrea hadcouK; in on the main roail some distance below, 
or to the south of us— that he had been to San Patricio, and had probably slaughtered 



o46 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Johnson and his party. Plucido wished to ri»turn with us, but Grant persuaded him to- 
start forthwith for Goliad, and give Fauniu information of Urrea's arrival. AVe had 
been absent from San Patricio some ten or twelve days. As Grant and myself approaeh- 
ed to join our party, the dragoons opened their line, and we pa■^^•ed in. We at once 
saw that most of OLir party had already been killed, and we decided to sell our own 
lives as dearly as possible. My horse was quickly killed with a lance, but Grant told 
me to mount Major Morris' horse, as Morris had just been killed. 1 did so, but without 
seeing any object to be accomplished by it. Just at that moment the horses took a 
stampede, and broke the lines of dragoons, and Grant and myself linding ourselves then 
the only survivors of our party, followed in the wake c-f the horses, the dragoons shoot, 
iug after us, and wounding our horses in several places, but not badly. As we were 
flying, a dragoon rushed upon me with his lance set, but I knocked it one side and shot 
him, holding my pistol almost against his breast; and scarcely stopping, I fled wilb 
Grant, the Mexicans following, and some of tliem occasionally coming up with us, and 
crying out to iisto surrender and our lives would be saved. But we knew better, and 
continued to fly, but the number of those overtaking us became larger and larger, and 
after we had run six or seven miles, they surrounded us, when, seeing no further chance 
of escape, we dismounted, determined to make them pay dearly for our lives. As E 
reached the ground a Mexican lanced me in the arm, but Grant immediately shot hini' 
dead, when I seized his lance to defend myself. Just as he shot the Mexican, I saw 
Grant fall, pierced with several lances, and a moment after I found myself fast in a 
lasso that had been thrown over me, and by which I was dragged to the ground. I 
could do no more, and only regretted that I had not shared the fate of all the rest of 
my ])arty. 

After Grant fell, 1 saw some ten or a dozen oflicers go up and run their swords through 
his body. He was well known to them, having lived a long time in Mexico. They had 
a bitter grudge against him. 

Gray, William Fairfax. — Was a Clerk of the House of Representatives 
in 1837. and subsequently District Attorney at Houstou, an office which he 
held when he died in that city in 1841, 

Gray, Peter Vf. — Son of the above, was appointed District Attorney on 
the death of his father; was a member of the first Legislature of the State ; 
and for many years filled the office of District Judge. During the war he 
represented his district in the Confederate Congress; alter the war he 
resumed the practice of his profession ; was appointed one of the Justices 
of the Supreme Court in 1874, but alter a few months service, was com- 
pelled, on account of ill-health, to resign. He died in Houstou, October 
8th, 1874. 

OnAYSOx, Peter W. — Was an Aid to General Burleson at San Antonio 
in U ;;0 ; in 181)6, Attorney-General during the goverument ad interim; 
soon afterwards Avas sent to the United States in the diplomatic service, 
where he remamed two years. At the close of General Houston's first 
term as President, Grayson became a candidate for the office, with flatter- 
ing prospects of success. Durilig the canvass, which was very bitter, he 
died by his own hands, at Bean's station, in Tennessee. In colonial times 
Grayson had faithfully served Texas, at one time taking twenty-five of his 
own negroes out to fight the Indians. 

Green, Thomas. — Fought as a private at San Jacinto; was surveyor of 
Fayette county in 1838, and afterwards in the Ranging service. He was in*. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 547 

the Mexican war with the rank of Captain. He was the Clerk of the Su- 
preni3 Court of the State from its organization until the breaking out of 
the civil war. He entered the Confederate army with the rank of Colonel; 
won distinction in the Arizona expedition, and also in the battle of Galves- 
ton. He rose to the rank, tirst of Brigadier, and then of Major-General ; 
was killed at the battle of Blair's Lauding, on Eed river, in Louisiana, 
April 12th, 1864. 

Green, Thomas Jefferson.— Was a native of North Carolina ; educated 
at West Point; resided successively in Tennessee, Mississippi and Florida. 
Came to Texas in 1836, arriving while the army was at Groce"s. Here, says 
Foote, he was induced to accept the commission of Brigadier-General, and 
to return to tlie United States for volunteers. Foote adds: <' Green's 
uncommon activity enabled him to throw more men, provisions and muni- 
tions of war into the country in the short space of a month or two, than any 
other individual whatever had succeeded in contributing." He returned to 
Texas in charge of some volunteers, on the schooner Ocean Queen, landing 
at Velasco on the 3d of June. He and his men bore a conspicuous part in 
the forcible disembarkation of Santa Anna and his suite. In 1842, he was 
in the Somervell campaign, and remained on the Rio Grande when that 
General returned. In the reorganization which took place for the descent 
upon Mier, Green was chosen to command the men who went down the 
river in boats. At Mier he fought gallantly, and was bitterly opposed to 
the surrender; and rather than give up his sword to Ampudia, he broke it 
across his knee. He made his escape from the Castle of Perote, in the 
spring of 1843, and arrived at Velasco in June, just on the eve of an elec- 
tion, and was elected to Congress from Brazoria county. After annexation 
he went to California, where he served one term in the State Senate; and 
was elected Major-General of the militia. Returning to the Atlantic 
States, he settled again in his native State, where he died January 12th, 
1864. 

Gregg, John. — For whom the county was named, was a native of North 
Carolina. Came to Texas in 1854, and was a member of the Secession 
Convention in 1861. At the adjournment of the Convention, he entered 
the Confederate army as a Colonel ; was promoted to the rank of Brigadier 
in 1862; and was killed at the battle near Charles Citv, Virginia, October. 
1864. 

Grimes, Jesse.— Was a native of North Carolina ; born in 1778. Removal 
to Alabama in 1817, and came to Texas in January, 1826, and settled in the 
county which bears his name. AVas in the Convention of 1836; served in 
both branches of the Congress of the Republic, and of the State Legisla- 
ture, after annexation. Died at his home, March 16th, 1866. 

GuoCE, Jared E.— Came with his family and about one hundred negroes 
to the Brazos river, in the fall of 1821. Under the regulations of Austin's 
first colonial grant, he was entitled to 80 acres of land for each slave intro- 



548 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

duced. He brought seed-corn, but such was the scarcity of breadstuffs, 
that after the corn was planted, he had to waich the field to keep the 
negroes from scratching it up to eat. When the corn was in roasting ears, 
the field had to be guarded night and day, to prevent the bears and other 
wild animals from destroying it. He also brought a few cotton seed, and 
planted the first in Texas, and at Groce's Eetreat he, in 1828, built the first 
cotton-gin house in the country. As an illustration of the moderate esti- 
mate placed upon land, we may state that Col. Groce bought the league upon 
which the town of Courtney now stands, for a bolt of domestic and a riding- 
pony. The Indians were troublesome, and on several occasions he armed a 
company of his slaves, and went out on Indian scouts. He died in 1836. A 
modest monument surmounts his grave at his old home, Groce's Retreat. 

GuTiERRES, Bernardo — "Was one of the patriot leaders, under Hidalgo, 
in Mexico; was sent by the Revolutionary party, in 1811, as an Embassador 
to the United States. After the death of Hidalgo, Bernardo, as he is usually 
called, made his home at Nachitoches, Louisiana. At the organization on 
the Sabine, in 1812, of " The Republican Army of the North " Gutierrcs be- 
came the nominal commander, though the real authority was exercised by 
Magee. After the death of Magee and the taking of San Antonio, in March, 
1813, Bernardo began, among his own countrymen, to exercise more au- 
thority. He organized a governing junta in the city, after the Mexicau 
fashion ; and after the same fashion fourteen Spanish ofiicers, who had 
surrendered as prisoners of war, were put to death After this barbar- 
ous deed, Bernardo was for a time displaced from command, but was 
restored again on the arrival of Elisondo, with a fresh Spanish army, in 
May. He acted with great energy, and marched out and totally de- 
feated the Spaniards, in the battle of the Alazan, June 5th. Soon after 
this he was succeeded in the command by Toledo, and he, with his fam- 
ily, retired again to the east side of the Sabine, thus escaping the disas- 
trous battle of Medina. In 1819, Bernardo was appointed a member of 
the Supreme Council, organized by Long at Nacogdoches, but he never 
heartily entered into Long's scheme of conquest. Ou the establishment 
of the Republic of Mexico, in 1821, Bernardo became Governor of Tam- 
aulipas. In company with his young friend, Almonte, he sailed from 
New Orleans to Matamoras, and entered at once upon the discliarge of his 
duties. It was his good fortune, in 1823, to capture the exiled Emperor, 
Iturbide, soon after he landed at Soto la Marina. As Conjrress had already 
decreed that if Iturbide returned to Mexico, he should be shot, Gutierres 
without any unnecessary delay proceded to carry out the sentence. At the 
expiration of his term as Governor, he disappeared from public life. Bean, 
in his personal narrative, under date at San Carlos, June 25th, 1825, says : 
" [ found Don Bernardo Gutierres, with about four liundred troops, in com- 
mand of the place. He was my old friend, and I was very glad to see him, 
as my horses and mules were giving out, and my money also; but to my 
misfortune, I found him very poor and unable to help himself." In his old 
age, Bernardo supported himself by keeping a small saddlery-shop in Guer- 
rero. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 549' 

Hall, Warren D. C. — Commenced the practice of law in Natchitoches, 
Louisiana, in 1812, and the same year became a captain in Magee's expedi- 
tion. After the battle of Eosillo, and the murder of the Spanish prisoners 
by Deigado, Hall, with a number of other Americans, returned to the 
United States, thus escaping the disastrous battle of Medina. In 1817, he 
accompanied tlie expedition to Soto la Marina, but fortunately returned to 
the Texas coast with Aury, thus avoiding the fate of those who remained 
with Mina or returned by land with Perry. He became for a time a citizen 
of Brazoria County, and was, in 1835, one of the Committee of Safety at 
Columbia. While Rusk was absent in the army, in April, 1836, Hall was 
Acting Secretary of War, with Burnet, at Galveston. The last years of his 
life were spent at the place known as the Three Trees, on Galveston Island^ 
where he died in 1868. 

Hall, C. K. — A native of Connecticut; became a merchant at Victoria 
in 1838. When that place was burned by the Indians, in 1840, he removed 
first to Houston and then to Bastrop; became largely interested in mail 
stage-lines; in 1868, was Collector of Customs at Galveston, He died in 
Austin in January, 1873. 

Hamilton, James— A native of South Carolina, which State he represented 
in Congress, and of which he was Governor. It was he who signed the 
Nullification Act, which came near plunging the country into civil war dur- 
ing the administration of President Jackson. For many years Hamilton 
was the commercial and diplomatic agent of Texas in Europe. While en- 
gaged in this service, it is said he became involved in pecuniary embarrass- 
ments which consumed his private fortune. In 1857, he started for Texas 
in hopes of obtaining relief, but was lost in the wreck of the steaniship Op- 
pelousas. In 1820, General Jackson proffered him the mission to Mexico, 
which he declined. He also declined a seat in the United States Senate, ten- 
dered to him on the death of Mr. Calhoun, and the command of the Ai-my 
of Texas, tendered to him by the Congress of the Republic. 

Hamilton, Morgan C— A native of Alabama; came to Texas in 1830,^ 
and for six years was a clerk in the War Department, and at one time Act- 
ing Secretary of War, and also of the Treasury. In 1867, he was appointed 
Comptroller of the State Treasury; in 1868, he was a member of the Re- 
construction Convention, and, in 1870, elected to the United States Senate, 
a position held until 1877. He resides in Austin. 

Hamilton, Andrew J. — Brother of the above, and also a native of Ala- 
bama ; came to Texas in 1846 ; was Attorney-General in 1849 ; after wliich 
he was a member of the State Legislature ; in 1859, elected to Congress, 
where he opposed secession. During the progress of the war he lelt Texas, 
and in the summer of 1865 was appointed Provisional Governor by An- 
drew Johnson. He was a member of the second Reconstruction Conven- 
tion, and mainly instrumental in getting the very lil)eral electoral bill en- 
grafted in the Constitution of 1868. In 1860 he was the conservative candi- 



550 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

date for Governor, and his friends thought him elected, but after a canvass 
of the votes by General Reynolds, his opponent, General Davis, was de- 
clared elected. Governor Hamilton died in Austin, in Api-il, 1875. 

Hancock, John — A native of Alabama ; came to Texas in 1847; in 1851 
he was a District Judge; in the Legislature in 1860, and in the Constitu- 
tional Convention in 1866. He was elected to Congress in 1870 ; re-elected 
ill 1872, and again in 1874. Lives in the city of Austin. 

Handy, R. E. — One of Houston's aids in the San Jacinto campaign ; died 
in Richmond in 1838. " When Handy died," said Lamar, " I lost my best 
friend." 

Hansford, John M. — A Representative in the Texas Congress from 
Shelby county, in 1838, and Speaker of the House. Died in 1843. 

Hardiman, Baily — Secretary of the Treasury during the government ad 
interim. Died in October, 1836. 

Hawkins, Charles — Was in early life a lieutenant in the United States 
navy ; next in the Mexican navy ; was with Mexia in his expedition to Tam- 
pico, and then a sommodore in the Texas navy. Died of small pox in New 
Orleans in 1837. 

Hawkins, Joseph H. — A schoolmate of Stephen F. Austin at Transylva- 
nia, and also a partner of Austin in his Colonial Scheme. In a contract 
drawn up in New Orleans, November 14, 1821, Austin acknowledges the 
receipt of $4,000 from Hawkins, for which he covenanted to give Hawkins 
one-half part of the money, effects, projperty and profits arising from the 
sale of lands, lots or from any other source growing out of the grant of 
lands; and all lauds, lots, and other property, so derived, were to be from 
time to time divided between the parties in equal moities. (See Life and 
Events, pages 132-3.) Hawkins died in New Orleans in 1823. He left three 
children. One fell with Fannin ; Thomas died in Texas in 1847 ; a daughter, 
Mrs, Victor, lives in Kentucky. 

Hays, John C. — Was a famous Texas ranger. He was a captain in the 
Somervell campaign 1842; he was the colonel of the first regiment of Tex. 
ans mustered into service in the Mexican War. When the term of service 
of tiie regiment expired. Hays was appointed a major of infantry in the reg- 
ular army of the United States. In 1840 he was Indian Agent in New 
Mexico, and soon afterwards conducted a caravan across the continent to 
California, where he has since resided. In 1852 he was surveyor general of 
that State. 

Heard, William J. E. — Came in 1830, with quite a colony, from North 
Alabama to Texas, and settled first in Jackson county and afterwards in 
Wharton. He commanded Company F, in Burleson's regiment, in the 
battle of San Jacinto. His company was immediately in front of the Mex- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 551 

ican battery. When within one liundred yards of the guns, at the flash of the 
cannon, his men all fell down, but rising instantly, he shouted to them that 
they must capture the cannons before the gunners had time to reload; and 
it was done. Sixteen dead Mexicans were lying near the captured pieces. 
Beside his sword. Captain H., carried his trusty rifle, which he fired sixteen 
times during the battle. In 1840 Captain Heard accompanied Colonel John 
H. Moore in a campaign against the Indians on the upper Colorado. Subse- 
quently, he filled the office of Chief Justice of Wharton county. After iho 
close of the civil war, he removed from his model plantation in Wharton 
•county to Chappell Hill, where he died in August, 1874. 

Hemphill, John— A native of South Carolina; graduated at Jefierson 
College, Pennsylvania, in 1826, and studied law; came to Texas at an early 
period, and was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic in 1840 ; in 1842, 
wasAdjutant to General Somervell; in 1845, in Annexation Convention; i7i 
1846, re-appointed Chief Justice, an office he held until 1859, when he was 
■elected to the United States Senate ; resigned when the State seceded, and 
was sent as one of the delegates of Texas to the Convention at Montgomery, 
Alabama. He did not return to Texas, and was defeated in his deletion to 
the Confederate Senate. Died in Richmond, Virginia, in January, 1862 
His remains were brought to Austin for final interment. 

Henderson, J. PiNCKNEY— A native of North Carolina; after receivin^r 
license to practice law, removed to Mississippi. In 1836, he raised a com- 
pany of volunteers and brought them to Texas, landing at Velasco June 
13th. At the inauguration of President Houston, in November, he became 
Attorney-General, and at a subsequent period. Secretary of State. In 1837, 
was Minister to England and France; returned to Texas in 1840, and .-c- 
sumed the practice of his profession. His partners were K. L. Anderson 
and T. J. Rusk. In 1844, he was sent as special Minister to the United 
States ; and in 1845 he was elected Governor. By the authority of the Leo-- 
islature, he commanded the Texans in the Mexican war, with rank of 
Major-General of Volunteers. For his gallantry at Monterey, the United 
States Congress voted him a sword. In 1857, he was elected to the United 
States Senate to fill the unexpired term of Senator Rusk, but his health was 
then dechning and he died before taking his seat. 

Herreka, Simon De.— A native of the Canary Islands. In early life trav- 
eled extensively, especially in the United States. Married an Eno-lish 1-idv 
at Cadiz. He was one of those selected by De Galves and sent^out fro.. 
Spam to reform the administration in the new world; he was appointed 
Governor of Nueva Leon. Pike, who in 1807 enjoyed his hospitalitv, savs : 
If ever a chief was adored by his people, it was Herrera. When I saw 
him, he had been absent from his capital about one vcar; du.in- which 
ime the citizens of rank in Monterey had not sufi-ered a marria-c or baptism 
to take place in any of their families; waiting until their common father 
could be there to consent, and give joy to the occasion by his presence " 
Herrera was sent both as commander and diplomatist to the Sabine, in 



552 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

1806, to repel the threatenei'l invasion by tlie Americans under Generali 
Wilkinson. He was imperatively ordered to drive back the Americaus,^ 
and all parties expected war. But Herrera and Wilkinson entered into 
negotiations, and the treaty of the *' Neutral Ground" was formed. His 
colleague, Cordero, disapproved the arrangement, and both officers sent 
reports to their superior officers. " Until an answer was returned," said 
Ilerrera to General Pike, " I experienced the most unhappy period of my 
life; conscious that I had served my country faithfully, at the same time 
that I had violated every principle of military duty." To his relief, the 
commandant, the viceroy and the king of Spain approved his course. The 
discovery and the defeat of the scheme of Aaron Burr for revolutionizing 
Northern Mexico, was the object attained by the diplomacy of Herrera. 
This, in the estimation of the Spaniards, more than atoned for the disobe- 
dience to orders. Herrera was one of the unfortunate victims of the 
massacre of Delgado, at San Antonio, April oth, 1813. 

Herrera, Jose Manuel, — A priest who early joined the Republican 
party in Mexico. He was, in 1816, the diplomatic agent in the United 
States. He resided mostly in New Orleans, and in company with Commo- 
dore Aury, took possession of Galveston and established Republican 
headquarters on the island. In 1823, he was in the cabinet of Iturbide, and. 
warmly espoused the colonization scheme of Austin, who was then in the 
city of Mexico. When Iturbide was deposed, Herrera fled from the capital 
and was twenty years in exile. In 1841, he reappeared upon the theater of 
Mexican politics, and was for a short time entrusted with the chief execu- 
tive power. To defeat the prospect of annexation to the United States, he 
consented to the acknowledgement of her independence, on condition that 
Texas should remain an independent Republic. But this proposition came 
too late; preliminary steps had already been taken for the accomplishment 
of this object, and in spite of the remonstrances of Mexico, Texas became 
one of the States of the Union, 

Hewiston, Dr. James. — One of Austin's companions to Texas in 1821,. 
Decree No. 13, September 10th, 1827, constituted him a Coahuil-Texan, (a 
citizen of Coahuila and Texas) , The same year, in conjunction with James 
Power, he obtained an empresario contract for settling a colony on the 
coast west of Goliad, For many years he carried on an extensive mercan- 
tile and manufacturing business at Saltillo, where he died in 1870. 

HiGHSMiTH, Samuel.— iV native of Kentucky, but came from Missouri to 
Texas in 1826, and settled on the frontier, where he rendered effii;ient service 
as Captain of a company of rangers. In 1849 lie commanded the escort 
that guarded the commissioners sent to open the road from San Antonio to- 
El Paso. The hardships of the trip brought on a fever, from which he died 
soon after his return to San Antonio. 

Hill., B. F, — A clerk in the eighth Congress and also in the first Legisla- 
ture ; for a time he filled the office of Adjutant-General. Was killed in. 
Victoria, in 1866. 




THOMAS J. RUSK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.' 555 

Hockley, George W.— Was Inspector General at the 6attle of Sail 
Jacinto; Secretary of War luuler Ploiistoii in 1843, and was sent bv Houston 
to Mexico to negotiate a peace. He died in Houston, in 1854, 

HoRTON, Albert C— Came in an earl}^ day from Alabama to Texas, and 
opened a large plantation on Cauey, in Wharton county. In the sprino- of 
1836, he collected a small cavalry company and marched to Goliad to assist 
Fannin, taking some oxen to be used in the transportation of cannon. He 
arrived at Goliad on tlie 16th of March, and on the next day crossed the 
river and had a skirnnish with the cavalry of Urrea, Shackleford, who saw 
the fight, says, '• Horton behaved with great gallantry, and made a furious 
charge upon the enemy; but, encountering a heavy force of infantry, he 
retreated in good order," On the I9th, the morning of the retreat frgm 
Goliad, Horton was sent in advance to examine the crossing of the Coleta, 
While at the stream awaiting the arrival of Fannin, that officer had been 
completely surrounded by the army of Urrea, Horton was anxious to 
attempt to rejoin Fannin, but his men thought it impracticable to do so, as 
they were too few to attempt so hazardous a feat. Horton, then, says 
Shackleford, resolved to go to Victoria and procure reinforcements ; but 
Dimitt, the commander there, had already retired towards the Colorado 
river. Dr, Shackleford adds: ''Horton should not be censured; he had 
done all in his power to relieve his companions, and an attempt to reach 
the battle-ground would almost inevitably have resulted in the death or cap- 
tivity of the whole party." During the Republic, Horton represented his 
county in Congress; and at the first election after annexation, was elected 
Lieutenant-Governor. Soon after his inauguration. Governor Henderson 
left the State to command the Texans in the Mexican war, and Horton 
became Governor. He died at his plantation in 1865, soon after the surren- 
der of the Confederate armies and the emancipation of the slaves. 

Houston, Sam,— Was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1793. 
When fourteen yeai's old, his father died, leaving his family in destitute cir- 
cumstances. The widow, with her nine children, removed to Blount county, 
Tennessee. Young Sam spent his time alternately at school, at farm work, 
and as a clerk in a store. Without any assignable cause, he left home and 
joined a band of Cherokee Indians hunting in the neighborhood. Havino- 
contracted some debts for clothes, he returned home and engaged in school- 
teaching until he made enough to pay his debts. In 1813 he enlisted as a 
soldier in the Creek war, and greatly distinguished himself at the battle of 
the Horse Shoe, on the Tallapoosa river, March 2-ith, 1814. Major ]\Iont- 
gomery, the first to ascend the Indian breastworks, was instantly killed. 
Ensign Houston, who was just behind him, was severely wounded with an 
arrow, and also by two rifle balls. His gallantry won the admiration of 
General Jackson, and a life-long friendship sprung up between the two. It 
was neaily a year before Houston had sufficiently recovered to return to his 
home. In November, 1817, he was appointed Indian Agent. Complaints 
were made ])y dissatisfied contractors, of Houston's management, but after 
a full investigation he was honorably acquitted. He soon afterwards re- 
31 



556 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

signed the agency, and at the same time surrendered his commission as a 
Lieutenant in the army. 

He now determined to devote himself to the law, and commenced its 
study. In 1819 he was elected District Attoney of Davidson county, and 
at the same time Major-General of the militia. In 1823 he was elected to 
Congress, and rf?-elected in 1825. At the close of his second term he was 
elected Governor of Tennessee; and in January, 1829, he married a Miss 
White. No man ever enjoyed a higher degree of popularity than did Hous- 
ton at that time. He was elected by an overwhelming majority ; and there 
was scarcely a breath of opposition to his administration in the Legislature. 
To all outward appeai'ance he and his beautiful bride lived in perfect con- 
jugal felicity. One morning in April, the citizens of Nashville were thunder- 
struck with the announcement that Mrs. Houston had returned to her 
father's house in Gallatin, and that Houston had resigned the Gubernatorial 
chair and fled from the city in disguise. But it was so. He had taken 
passage on a steamer, and gone to rejoin his old companions among the 
Cherokees, then living on the Arkansas river, in the Indian Territory. 
Curiosity has in vain attempted to ascertain the cause of the domestic 
trouble. The lips of the two persons most deeply involved remained sealed 
until they were forever closed in death; and the mystery is still un- 
solved. 

On the 29tli of October, 1829, Houston was formally admitted to citizen- 
ship among the Cherokees. In 1832 he visited the city of Washington in 
the interest of the Indian tribes, and secured the removal of some un- 
worthy agents. This provoked opposition, and Houston had a personal 
rencounter with a member of Congress from Ohio. He was arrested and 
fined five hundred dollars; but President Jackson remitted the fine. When 
he left the Capital he bore in his pocket a commission as Confidential 
Indian Agent among the tribes of the Southwest, to whom he was sent to 
negotiate treaties. 

This opens a new career in Houston's life. A man like him, conscious ot 
his own abilities, and who, in early life, had been so remarkably success- 
ful, could not long remain content in the solitude of the wilderness, with 
no companions but the half-civilized aborigines. His visit to Washington, 
and the cordial reception given him by his former commander, had revived 
his love for civilized life, and his ambition to re-enter the political arena. 
The circumstances were auspicious. He had already been meditating a 
settlement in Texas, and the establishment of a stock ranche on some of 
her beautiful i^rairies. He determined to visit the Province, partly to look 
for a new home, and partly to fulfill his mission to the Indian tribes within 
her territory. He crossed Red river, at Jouesborough, December 10th, 
1832, and jjroceeded to Nacogdoches, passing but two houses on the route. 
At San Felipe, he met James Bowie, who invited him to visit San Antonio 
and have a *'talk" with some Comanche chiefs, then camped in the neigh- 
borhood of that city. From this period Texas became his home, and for 
thirty years his character forms her principal liistorical figure; and her soil 
entombs his mortal remains. Houston had his taults — and who has them 
not? — but with all his faults he was the man for the times; the man that 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 557 

Texas needed at that period of her history. He had had experience as a 
legislator, as an executive, and as an officer in the United States army. His 
youth had been passed in severe struggles with poverty, and nearly his 
whole life had been spent on the frontier. He was a pioneer among those 
hardy adventurers who are constantly enlarging the boundaries of civiliza- 
tion. He was still in the prime of manhood, and his fine physical form 
pointed him out as one born to command. Around the camp-fires, in tlm 
company of his comrades in arms, he was jovial — perfectly at home; could 
barbecue his own meat, and, if he enjoyed such a luxury, could prepare his 
own cup of coffee. Self-reliant and self-helpful, he exacted no service from , 
his soldiei's that he was himself unwilling to undertake. When planning a 
campaign, or conducting a battle, he was equally pelf-reliant, but more 
reticent, seldom advising with his brotlier officers. He also possessed the 
rare and wonderful gifts of a popular orator. He could sway the multi- 
tude as the trees of the forests are bent by the passing tornado. He could, 
on any occasion, on a moment's notice, address his fellow-citizens, or his 
fellow-soldiers, in stich strains of convincing eloquence as inspired his 
auditoi-y with his own lofty sentiments. The advent of such a man into 
Texas properly forms an epoch in our history. 

The first service he rendered his adopted country was as a member of 
the Convention at San Felipe, in 1833. He was the chairman of the com- 
mittee that drew up a Constitution for the State as it was to be, when sepa- 
rated from Coahuila. It was a brief, but model document, and might even 
BOW be studied with profit, though, owing to the subversion of the Mexican 
Constitution by Santa Anna, it was never adopted, and Texas never be- 
came a Mexican State. 

In 1834, a project was formed for introducing into East Texas a large 
number of Creek Indians. This, Houston assisted in defeating. 

Houston did not at that period think it best for Texas to attempt a sepa- 
ration from Mexico. As late as August, 1835, he introduced a sei'ies of 
resolutions, at a public meeting at Nacogdoches, declaring for the Consti- 
tution of 1824. He was a member of the General Consultation at San 
Fehpe, in 1835, and still opposed a declaration of independence. But Coa- 
huila was in a state of revolution, and Texas was almost witliout the 
semblance of civil government until this body organized a Provisional 
Government. This was on the thirteenth of November. Hostilities then 
actually existed, and Houston was elected commander of the forces in the 
field. 

Houston remained for sometime at San Felipe, assisting the Executive 
Council in framing ordinances for the efficient organization of an army. An 
immediate Mexican invasion was not anticipated, and many Toxans thouglit 
a descent upon Matamoras both practicable and expedient. While other i>ar- 
ties were getting up voluntarj^ expeditions. Governor Smith, on the 17th of 
December, formally ordered General Houston " to make a demonstration 
upon Matamoras ; or at least to secure Copano, and harass the enemy in 
that direction ; " and Houston, says Yoakum, ordered Colonel James Bowie 
to raise, if possible, a suflScient force and march upon Matamoras. Again, on 
the 6th of January, 1836, the Governor ordered Houston, says Yoakum, '' to 



558 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

repair to Bexar, or such other point on the frontier as he might deem most 
eligible, and establish his headquarters." Houston, instead of going to Sun 
Antonio, went directly to Goliad, reaching that place on the 16th of January. 
On the day he arrived there, he ordered Major Morris to Kefugio with his 
command, and sent Bowie with thirty men to Bexar, with a letter to Col- 
onel Neill desiring him to demolish the fortifications of that place, and bring- 
off the artillery, as it would be impossible to hold it. When the General 
arrived at Refugio, he was shown an act of the council that empowered 
Colonel Johnson to lead an independent force against Matamoras, and 
learned that Coloned Fannin had similar authority. Considering that his au- 
thority had thus been set aside, he immediately returned to Washington 
and made his report to Governor Smith. The few citizens and soldiers at 
Refugio elected Houston to the Convention which was to assemble in March 
at Washington. 

Among other acts of the Council, it passed a solemn decree to secure the 
confidence and respect of the civilized Indians in East Texas : that they would 
guarantee to the Indians the peaceable enjoyment of their rigiits to their 
lands; that all surveys, grants and locations made within these limits, after 
the settlements of the Indians, are, and of right ought to be, null and 
void. On Houston's return to Washington, Governor Smith gave him a 
furlough till the first of March, and directed him, in conjunction with 
Messrs Forbes and Cameron, to bear this solemn declai-ation to the Indians, 
and enter into a treaty with them ; and added: " Your absence is permitted 
in part by illegal acts of the Council, in superseding you, by the unauthor- 
ized appointment of agents to organize and control the army, contrary to 
the organic law and the ordinances of their own body." He and Mr. 
Forbes proceeded to the east and effected the treaty — a treaty which un- 
doubtedly kept the Indians quiet during the exciting period which immedi- 
ately succeeded. 

Houston took his seat in the Convention which met on the first of March. 
The declaration of independeni-,e took place on the second ; and on the fourth, 
Houston was elected Commander-in-Chief, and two days later left for the 
army, then on the bank of the Gaudalupe. We need not repeat the inci- 
dents connected with the retreat from Gonzales, and the march to the 
battle-ground. 

On the morning of the ever-memorable 21st of April. Santa Anna was re- 
inforced by the arrival of Cos with live hundred additional troops. Hous- 
ton sent Deaf Smith, with a few companions, to burn Vinco's Bridge on 
Simms' Bayou. Tliis was done to cut of the retreat of the Mexicans. 
About 12 M., a council of officers was held at Houston's headquarters, and a 
plan of battle arranged. A little after three, the bugle sounded and the 
troops paraded for action. Burleson's regiment occupied the center; Sher- 
man was on Burleson's left; and the artillery, commanded by Hockley, 
and the regulars under Millard, with the cavalry under Lamar, were on 
the right. Si)ontaneously, as the men rushed impetuously to the charge, 
the shout ran along the line, " Remember the Alanu) — remember Goliaill " 
The fine form of the Commiinder-in-Chicf was conspicuous in the- front of 
the ranks. Some of Houston's enemies have stated differently, but Ben. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 559 

M'Culloch, who was in command of one of the cannon, stated that on one 
occasion, when about to fire, he withheld the discharge of his i)iece until 
Houston could pass, as he was immediately in front. Among- the compar- 
atively few Texans injured on that day, so glorious in our history, Houston 
was severely wounded in the foot. The enemy, after a few rounds, fled in 
the utmost disorder fi-om the field. The victory was complete. Six 
hundred and thirty Mexicans lay dead on the battle-ground; two hundred 
and thirty-eight were wounded, and seven hundred and thirty were v.iris- 
oners in the Texan camp. 

The loss of the Texans was inconsiderable : eight killed and twenty-five 
wounded. The day after the battle, Santa Anna was brought a prisoner 
into camp. Notwithstanding the recent massacres at San Antonio and 
Goliad, the captive chief was treated with great magnanimity; his personal 
baggage was restored, and he was permitted to have the society of his pei'- 
sonal staflf. General Houston's wound proving very jiainful, he obtained 
leave of absence, and on the fifth day of May, embarked on one of the Gov- 
ernment vessels for New Orleans, for surgical aid. On the 4th of June he 
wrote as follows to Lamar: ''My wound has improved; some twenty or 
more bones have been taken out of it ; my general health improves steadily, 
but it is only within the last four or five days that I have been enabled to 
sit up any portion of the day." When sufficiently restored, he started back 
to Texas, reaching San Augustine on the fifth of July. His talents, his for- 
mer experience in political life, and especially the splendid victory achieved 
under his command at San Jacinto, pointed him out as the most suitable 
person to fill the executive chair of the young Republic ; and at the election 
held in September, he was elected President of the Republic. It is hardly 
necessary to i*eview the various measures of his administration. Towards 
the Indians he always pursued a liberal and pacific policy. He enforced 
the most rigid economy in the various departments of the government, eveu 
first furloughing and then disbanding the army to curtail expenses* The 
English was substituted for the Spanish system of judicature. By the con- 
stitution, the first President held office only two years, and was inelgible at 
the next ensuing election. He was succeeded by Vice-President Lamar, but 
was i"e-eleoted President in 184:1. Wlien he again became President, he 
found the public credit at the lowest ebb; the Indians hostile; the seat,of 
government on the extreme frontier, at Austin, and the Mexicans threat- 
ening another invasion. He soon succeeded in improving the financial situa- 
tion, in quieting the Indians and improving the general tone of feeling 
throughout the counti-y. But in March, 18-12, a Mexican force under Vas- 
quez captured San Antonio, and another party took possession of Goliad. 
Houston, thinking the public archives were too much exposed on the fron- 
tier, removed the seat of government, first to Houston then to Washington, 
on the Brazos. This provoked great opposition to his administration in the 
west. 

Tlie Navy was another source of trouble. It had cost an enormous sum, 
and had been of very little advantage to the country. A bitter pex'sonal 
controversy arose between the President and Commodore Moore, which 
finally resulted in the suspension of tiie latter from his command. By 



560 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Houston's recommendation, Congress had passed a secret bill for the sale 
of the ships. When this was known at Galveston, it produced such a state 
of excitement that the law was repealed. Again : the prisoners in Mexico, 
taken first in the Santa Fe expedition, and afterwards in the Micr expedi- 
tion, caused trouble; many thinking that the President did not exert him- 
self for their release. Added to tliis, the miserable failure of the expedi- 
tion sent out by his authority, under Snively, added to the annoyances of 
his second administration. Again: the subject of annexation to the United 
States was now becoming the question, in Texas. It was thought Hous- 
ton, if he did not oppose this measure, was at least indilferent to its 
success. In this he was undoubtedly misjudged. He was in favor of 
annexation, but he thought the best way to secure that measure was to 
appear comparatively indifferent. In the meantims, he did secure an 
armistice with Mexico, which continued until annexation was consummated 
during the administration of his successor, Dr. Jones. Jones had been 
Secretary of State under Houston, and was the choice of Houston's friends 
as his successor. 

General Houston was elected a member of the Annexation Convention, 
from Montgomery county, but for some unexplained reason never appear- 
ed and claimed his seat. At the first session of the State Legislature, in 
1846, he was elected to the United States Senate, and was re-elected in 1847, 
and again in 1851. An old Jackson Democrat, he naturally associated with 
the dominant party in Congress, the party that had annexed Texas to the 
Union, and was carrying on the Mexican war. He was in favor of a rigid 
construction of the Constitution, and opposed to banks and a paper curren- 
cy ; opposed to all monopolies, and in general to all subsidies by the general 
and State governments. He opposed giving State aid to railroads, asserting : 
1st, that the money would be in danger of being lost; and 2d, that 
if so used, it would create such powerful monej'ed corporations as to endan- 
ger the liberties of the people. In a speech, in Austin, in the latter part of 
1853, he declared, " that he would rather see CA'ery dollar in the Treasury 
sunk in the Colorado river, than to see it loaned to railroad corporations." 

As early, however, as 1848-49, he began to be suspected by some of his 
Southern friends, as having a leaning towards the North. The question 
was upon the extension of the Missouri Compromise over the newly- 
acquirod territoi-y on the Pacific coast. He voted against the extension of 
the thirty-six degrees thirty minutes line across the Continent, thus virtu- 
ally excluding slavery from the Pacific coast. In a speech, in the Senate, 
he said: " It could iiot be for the interest of the North to destroy the 
South. * * The intelligent and manly spirit of the North would rise up 
to defend the Union. He wished no separation of the States. He had too 
much confidence in the North to fear any injury from that section, and he 
thought the South, (and he was a Southern man), should make some sacri- 
fices for the purpose of reconciliation." Long before this, Houston had 
taken a decitled stand fur the Union. He was in Texas during the Nullifi- 
cation excitement in South Carolina. He wrote to President Jackson : " I 
have with much pride and inexpressible satisfaction seen your message and 
proclamation, touching the Nullifiers of the South, and their peaceable 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICES. 561 

measures. God grant that you may save the Union ! It does seem to me 
that it is reserved for you, and you alone, to render millions so great a 
blessing. I hear all voices commend your course, even in Texas, where is 
felt the liveliest interest in the preservation of the Republic." 

In 1854, Senator Douglas introduced into the Senate, in his Kansas and 
Nebraska bill, his famous doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty ; giving Territo- 
rial Legislatures the right to say whether slavery should, or should not 
exist in their respective Territories, Houston, and John Bell, of Tennessee, 
were the only Southern Senators who voted against Douglas' bill. Hous- 
ton opposed the bill on the ground of expediency ; admitting, however, 
that the principle was correct, that the citizens should decide whether ihey 
would tolerate or exclude slavery from their State. Houston contended 
that if this bill passed, which was a virtual repeal of the Missouri Compro- 
mise, the new Territorities would exclude slavery. The North, being the 
most populous, Avould pour into them a tide of immigrants, who would 
never consent to the existence of slavery. The result vindicated this view 
of the Senator. Both Nebraska and Kansas became free States. 

About this time, Houston, for a period, affiliated with the Know-Nothiijg 
party. His course was severely condemned by many in Texas, and he was 
often called upon to defend himself. We copy some extracts from one of 
his speeches delivered at Nacogdoches, December 21st, 1855. The first 
extract refers to the bill for the naturalization of foreigners, allowing every 
one to vote on a six months' residence in the country. He contended this 
was in contravention of the laws of the United States, which required a 
longer residence. " This bill," said he, *' relinquishes the acknowledged 
right of the South to slave States south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes. 
It was a concession of every benefit the South might claim from the Com- 
promise of 1820. It gave to aliens the right to suffrage in six months after 
they came to the Territories, no matter where they came from — whether 
fresh from the prisons and poor-houses of Europe, with the mark of the 
fetters or the parish garb upon their limbs,— they stand upon the soil as free 
as the American who has shed his blood in defense of his country; and 
with such privileges given such a class, the fallacious hoi)e was indulged by 
Southern gentlemen that slavery would go into the Territories. The sou 
of the soil, with his slaves and his sturdy boys, all capable of advancing 
and defending the interests of the Territories, ai-e to be weighed in the 
balance with the pauper or the felon, who has been hurled from European 
society as a blot too foul for endurance ; and by this means, slavery is to go 
into Km^as! The South repudiated this, and stood by Mr. Clayton's 
amendment on the first vote upon the bill, but receded from its position 
when the bill came back from the House with the amendment stricken out, 
and swallowed the bill. I could not do it. The times have changed. Europe 
is emptying her vials of wrath upon us in the shape of thousands of her 
worst population, and it is time that a more cautious policy should be 
adopted. There are honorable exceptions, but the mass is a vile compound 
of all the dangerous tendencies ol trans- Atlantic society. The South found 
herself powerless to check the evil, and it gave way. I could not do it, 
and whether I am to stand alone, or not, I will always be found resisting 



562 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the encroachments of foreign influence upon our government. My vote 
shall never be founcl in favor of allowing the vote of the foreigner, who 
has been on our soil but six months, to weigh against the vote of a native 
or a naturalized citizen, in moulding the institutions of a sovereign State 
of this Union. Never! 

" Southern men are expected to embrace the Nebraska bill because it pro- 
claims a correct principle and establishes the doctrine of non-intervention, 
r accept no guide for my action but the Constitution and my constituents. 
Hecause the entire South was w^rong, should I be wrong too? I saw in that 
bill what the results have proved to be in it — disruption and disunion. I 
toldihem that generations yet unborn would reap the direful consequences 
if they repealed the Compromise. What is the establishment of an empty 
principle, if notliing is to be gained by it? What does the South gain by 
having the right to carry slaves to Nebraska, if slavery cannot go there? 
Nothing. The aflBrmation of a correct principle, when evil will grow out 
of it, is worse than nothing ; and can any one point out the benefits which 
have accrued to the South by this means? Under the Missouri Compro- 
mise the South did realize benefits, by the accession of slave States; but 
now that there is no line between slavery and free soil, where will it end? 
Population, with anti-slavery tendencies, will make free States at your veiy 
doors. You can point to no compact by which the limits of free soil were 
fixed, and Texas will be like Kentucky, with a receptacle for her runaway 
negroes on her borders. True, the Missouri Compromise did not compel 
States south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes to be slave States, but 
have any free States been found south of that line? And has it not always 
been conceded that they were to be slave States? The standard of free 
soil was not j)lanted in Louisiana or Missouri; and why? Because the 
Missouri Compromise was a line of demarkation between slavery and free 
soil, and the North, aggressive as it has been, never has crossed that line. 
Who can foretell the result of the Compromise of 1850? I stood side by 
side with the statesmen North and South, in the support of those measures. 
And did they not soothe the waves of discord that dashed at the foot of the 
Capitol? As if a Savior spoke, so calm and smooth became their glassy 
surface! Did it not quiet the discordant croakings of the Abolitionists, 
and lull into security the fears of the American people? It was a re-afhrnia- 
tion of the faith of compromises ; and when the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise was asked, I would have been untrue to every political act of 
my life, untrue to the repeated instructions of my constituents, had I not 
resisted it. A thousand kind memories cluster around the Compromise. 
It was hallowed by the devotion of the valiant defenders of the Constitu- 
tion. Under its rule the country had witnessed peace and prosperity. I 
told them I would stand astride the line of thirty-six degrees thirty min- 
utes, if needs be, and there would do battle, and there I would perish in 
defense of the rights of the South." 

Houston, judging correctly, from the tone of public sentiment in Texas, 
that he would not be returned to the Senate, in 1857 announced himself an 
independent candidate for Governor. He was beaten by lion. II. II. Run- 
nels, the regular Democratic nominee. We believe this was the only time 
he ever was defeated in an election before the people. 




SIDNEY SHERMAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 565 

At this period political excitement i-an high, and the small cloud was 
already visible which portended a feaiiiil civil strife. Perhaps to divert 
attention from sectional animosities, Houston, on the 20th of April, 1858, 
introduced a most remarkable resolution into the Senate. It was nothino- 
less than a proposition looking to the establishment of a protectorate over 
Mexico I He was a strong advocate of what is called the Monroe doctrine : 
that America must control the political affairs of her own continent; and he 
feared that Mexico was about to pass under European domination. In 
1848, he had advocated the policy of taking possession of Yucatan, when it 
was thought that peninsula would fall into the hands of Spain. The fol- 
lowing Ava? Houston's resolution : 

" Whereas, the events connected with the numerous efforts of the people 
of Mexico to establish upon a reliable basis an orderly system of self- 
government, have invariably resulted in a complete failure; and whereas, 
the condition of Mexico is such as to excite alarming apprehensions that 
she may precipitate herself into a wild condition of anarchy; and the more 
so as she has demonstrated, from time to time, her utter inability to suppress 
her intestine commotions and to conquer the hosts of bandits with which 
she is infested ; and whereas, the United States of America, on account of 
the continental policy which they cherish and desire to enforce, can never 
permit Mexico to be re-subjugated by Spain, or placed under the dominion 
of any foreign power; and whereas, one of the most important duties 
devolving upon civihzed governments, is to exact from adjoining nations 
the observance of good neighborhood, thus shielding themselves against 
impending, or even remote, injury to their border security: Therefore— 
Hesolved, That a committee of seven be raised to inquire and report to 
the Senate, whether or not it is expedient for the government of the United 
States of America to declare and maintain a protectorate over the so-called 
RepubUc of Mexico, in such a form and to such extent as shall be necessary 
to secure to this Union good neighborhood, and to the people of said coun- 
try the benefits of orderly and Avell-regulated Republican government." 

In 1859, Houston again became an independent Democratic candidate 
for Governor. In his letter of acceptance he said : *' The Constitution and 
the Union embrace the principles by which I will be governed, if elected. 
They comprehend all the old Jackson Democracy I ever professed or offici- 
ally practiced." In a circular addressed to his constituents, he said: '' I 
would lay down my life to defend any one of the States from aggression 
which endangered its peace, or threatened its institutions. I could do no 
more for the Union. I could wish to do more ; for the destruction of the 
Union would be the ruin of all the States." 

Governor Runnels was nominated for re-election by the regular Demo- 
cratic Convention. Some of Mr. Runnels' supporters were ardent advo- 
cates for the i-e-opening of the African slave trade, though the Convention 
which nominated him refused to endorse that iniquitous maasure. After 
an active canvass, in which Houston spoke in most of the prominent cities 
of the State, proclaiming his devotion to thetlnion and his hostility to the 
re-opening of the slave trade, he was elected by a handsome majority. He, 
however, found himself embarrassed from the commencement of his admin- 



566 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

istration. The Indians were troublesome upon the frontier; incendiary- 
fires occurred in various parts of Northern and Eastern Texas. Tliese were 
said to be caused by Abolitiou emisariL's, and this intensified the excitement. 
Houston was a pronounced opponent of secession, and it was soon evident 
that a majority of the Legislature were in favor of that measure. Houston 
was wining to co-operate witli tlie border skive States in any measure 
deemed necessary for mutual protection. But this did not satisfy the 
Secessionists, who were resolved that Texas should link her destiny with 
her sister Southern States. The Legislature convened in extra session 
January 21st, 18G1. By common consent, the people had, on the 8lh of 
January, elected delegates to a Convention which assembled at Austin on 
the 27th of the same month. 

Fearing the United States pi'operty on the frontier might be seized by 
irresponsible parties, Houston, on the 20th of January, wrote to General 
Twiggs, in command at San Antonio, inviting him to turn the property 
belonging to the army over to the State authorities. In his reply, dated 
the 22d, Gen. Twiggs said : " I am without instructions from Washington 
as to tiic disposition of public property here. After secession, if the execu- 
tive of the State makes a demand of the commander of the department, he 
will receive an answer."' The pi'operty was promptly surrendered to the 
commissioners appointed by the Secession Convention. 

The ordinance of secession was passed on the 1st of February, after which 
the Convention adjourned. The popular vote was taken on the 23d, and 
secession i)revailed. The Convention re-assembled on the 2d of March. It 
was now too late to oppose secession, but Houslon, among his friends, ad- 
vised Texas to resume her former position as a Republic, and refrain from 
attaching herself to the Confederacy which had just been formed at Mont- 
gomery, Alabama. The Convention, however, on the 5th of March, passed 
a bill uniting Texas to the new Confederacy. All State officers were re- 
quired, on the 14th, to take the oath to support the new government. This 
Houston refused to do. He was joined by Mr. Cave, his Secretary of State. 
The two were displaced from office. On the IGth, Lieutenant-Governor 
Clark was inaugurated Governor. Houston made no serious opposition to 
retiring to jjrivate life. He, however, published an address to the people 
of Texas, in which he said: '' I protest, in the name of the people of Texas^ 
against the acts of this Convention, and pronounce them null and void." 
* * * " I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon 
her. To avert this calamity, I shall make no endeavor to maintain my au- 
thoi'ity as Chief Executive of this State, except by the peaceful exercise of 
my functions. "When I can no longer do this, I shall calmly withdraw from 
the scene. * * * Fellow-citizens, think not that I complain of the lot 
wiiich Providence has now assigned me. It is, perhaps, meet that my career 
should close thus. I have seen the statesmen and patriots of my youth one 
by one gathered to their fiithers, and the government which they had roared 
rent in twain, and none like them are now left to reunite it again. I stand 
almost the last of a race who learned from them the lessons of human free- 
dom." 

Two days after sending forth this appeal, the Legislature met, and Hous- 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 567 

ton, still claiming to be Governor, sent in a message. Eeferring to his de- 
position from office, he said: " The Executive can, therefore, but await youi 
action, and that of the people. If driven at last into retirement, iu spite of 
the Constitution of the State, he Avill not desert his country, but his praj-ers 
for its peace and prosperity vi^ill be offered up with the same sincerity and 
devotion with which his services were rendered while occupying public sta- 
tion." As the Legislature promptly recognized Clark as Governor, Houston 
soon left the Capital and retired to private life. He still, however, watched, 
with great interest, the progress of events. When martial law was pro- 
claimed in Texas, he addressed an earnest protest to Governor Lubbock 
against this anti-republican expedient. ._ 

In I louston's retirement, he was not happy. He looked upon secession as 
an accomplished fact; he viewed with inexpressible grief the war measures 
adopted by both contending armies; he feared that republicau institutions 
would be superseded by two centralized despotisms, iu which the liberties 
of the people would be swept away ; and the prospect saddened him. His 
last appearance before a pubUc audience was in the city of Houston on the 
18lh of March, 1868. We copy the opening paragraph of his speech: 

''Ladies and FeUmo-Citizens: With feelings of pleasure and friendly 
greeting, I once again stand before this, an assemblage of my countrymen. 
As I behold this large assemblage, who, from their homes and daily toil, 
have come to greet once again the man who so often has known their kind- 
ness and affections, I can feel that even yet I hold a place in their high re- 
gard. This manifestation is the highest comphment that can be paid to the 
citizen and patriot. As you have gathered here to listen to the sentiments 
of my heart, knowing that the days draw nigh unto me when all thoughts 
of ambition and worldly pride give place to the earnestness of age, I know 
you will bear with me, while with calmness, and without the fervor and elo- 
quence of youth, I express those sentiments which seem natural to my mind, 
iu the view of the condition of the country. I have been buffetted by the^^ 
wave?, as I have been borne along time's ocean, until shattered and worn I 
approach the narrow isthmus which divides it from the sea of eternity be- 
yond. Ere I step forward to journey through the pilgrimage of death, I 
would say that all my thoughts and hopes are with my country. If one 
impulse arises above another, it is for the happiness of these people; the 
welfare and glory of Texas will be the uppermost thought, while the spark 
of life lingers in this breast.'" .v ^ 

Houston's health was now sensibly declining, and he died ou the 26th of 
July, 1863. In announcing his death, the Houston Telegraph used the fol- 
lowing language: "■ Let us shed tears to his memory, due to one who has 
filled so much of our affections. Let the whole people bury with him what- 
ever of unkindness they had for him. Let his monument be in tlie hearts of 
those who people the land to which his after years were devoted. Let his 
fame be sacredly cherished by Texans, not less to his distinguished services 
than to their own honor, of which he was always so jealous and so proud." 
To Houston Texas owes a lasting debt of gratitude. It was under his 
leadership that our independence was secured at San Jacinto. Duiing his 
entire life, he labored to preserve for educational purposes our immense 



V. 



568 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

public domain. For thirty years his energies were exerted to promote the 
welfare of our great commonwealth ; and yet his bones, without a stone to 
mark the place, sleep beneath our soil. 

Comparisons have been instituted between Austin and Houston, though, 
in fact, there are few points of analogy in their character or providential 
work, Austin was the man to introduce population into a wilderness, or- 
ganize society, and found a State; and nobly did he accomplish bis work. 
Houston was the man for the revolutionary period — to tight the battles of 
Uberty and establish permanently the great principles of the American Con- 
stitution. We can but indulge in a feeling of regret that he was removed 
from the earthly scene while the clouds of civil war obscured the political 
horizon. But he now, doubtless, from his higher state, with clearer vision, 
views with delight the new era of prosperity upon which his beloved coun- 
try has entered. 

Howard, George T. — "Was Captain of a Ranger company in Hays' and 
in Bell's regiments, during the Republic; was severely wounded in the 
fight with the Comanches, in the Council House, in San Antonio, in 1840. 
In 1852 he was Indian Agent, and accompanied Major Neighbors to Santa 
Fe. He died in Washington City iu 1865. 

Howard, Volney E. — Came from Mississippi to Texas ; was a member 
of the Annexation Convention, and also represented Bexar countj^ in the 
State Senate in 1846; from 1849 to 1852 he represented the Western district 
iu Congress. At the close of his Congi-essional term he was sent as Gov- 
ernment Agent to settle land claims in Cahforuia, and never returned to 
Texas, 

Hubbard, Richard B. — Was born in Georgia, in 1834; graduated at 
Mercer University in 1851, and at Harvard Law School the next year. 
With his father's family, he came to Texas in 1853, and settled at Tyler. In 
1856 he was appointed United States District Attorney ; in 1858 he repre- 
sented his district in the Lower House of the Legislatui'e ; in 1860 he was 
an elector on the Breckenridge ticket, and also a delegate to the Charleston 
Convention. At the breaking out of the civil war, and after having com- 
manded the Twenty-second regiment of Texas infantry, he was promoted to 
the command of a brigade. In 1872 he was an elector on the Greeley 
ticket; in 1873 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, and re-elected in 1876. 
On the first of December, 1876, Governor Coke resigned, and Mr. Hubbard 
became Governor. 

Hunt, Memucan. — A native of North Carolina, came to Texas after the 
battle of San Jacinto, landing at Velasco during the excitement about the 
release of Santa Anna. General Hunt filled a number of public oflSces, 
having been at one time Secretary of the Nav\- ; he was also, in the 
pompous language of diplomacy, " Minister rienipotentiary and Envoy 
Extraordinary, from the Republic of Texas to the United States of Amer- 
ica;" and he was the (Jommissioner on the jmrt of Texas, to run the 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 569 

boundary line between Texas and the United States. He met Mr. Overton, 
the Commissioner on the part of the latter government, at the mouth of the 
Sabine, but they made poor progress in running the line. Mr. Overton 
contended that according to the treaty, the line should come to the west 
line of the Lake, while Mr. Hunt insisted upon running it in the middle of 
the Lake. The controversy lasted until the appropriation on the part of 
Texas was exhausted, when the Commission dissolved, leaving the question 
still unsettled. After annexation, General Hunt removed to New Orleans, 
and engaged in mercantile business. 

Hunter, William L.— Came to Texas in 1835, as one of the New 
Orleans Greys; was in the Fannin massacre, but almost by a miracle, 
escaped death. He was a member of the Annexation Convention ; has 
filled the office of Chief Justice of Goliad county, in which he still lives. 

Hunter, John Dunn. — "When a mere boy, was taken captive by the 
Indians ; had no recollection of his parents or childhood home. He was 
about eighteen years of age when he was discovered by a party of Missouri 
fur traders. One of these traders, by the name of John Dunn, took a deep 
interest in the rescued boy, who took the name of his friend in addition to 
that of Hunter, which the Indians had given him. Young Hunter acquired 
a very fair English education, and traveled extensively in the United States, 
and also visited England, where he received marked attention from persons 
belonging to the nobility. While in England he published an account of 
his life and of the customs of the American Indians. After his return he 
still interested himself in Indian afiiiirs. In 1825-26, the Cherokees sent 
Dunn as their agent to the city of Mexico, to secure a home for their tribe 
in the Province of Texas. He obtained a pledge that the Indians should 
remain in undisturbed possession of their homes on the Neches river ; but 
he failed to secure proper titles to the lands. Fearing that they might be 
disturbed, Hunter, Fields, and a few other chiefs, entered into a league 
with Edwards and the party of Fredonians, in resisting Spanish authority. 
But Colonel Bean, the Spanish Indian Agent, succeeded in detaching most 
of the Indians from this ill-advised league. But Hunter, Fields, and two 
or three companions started, in good faith, to join the forlorn hope at 
Nacogdoches. When near the Anadaqua village, while Hunter's horse was 
drinking in a creek, he was deliberately shot by one of his treacherous 
companions. The first shot was not immediately fatal, and the wounded 
man implored tlie murderer to spare his life. '' It is hard," he said, 
" thus to die by the hands of ray professed friends." The appeal was in 
vain. Another fatal shot closed the career of this extraordinary man. 

Huston, Felix.— Arrived in Texas after the battle of San Jacinto. In the 
summer of 1836, when linsk resigned the command of the army, to take 
his seat in Houston's cabinet, General Felix Huston succeeded to the com- 
mand. Soon afterwards President Houston sent General A. S. Johnston 
out to assume the command. This produced a personal controversy be- 
tween the two Generals. A duel was the result, in which GeueralJohuston 



570 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

was so severely wounded as to be unable to take command of the army. 
The duel was fought February 7th, 1837, at Chalk Bluff, on the Lavaca 
river. Huston remained for some years in Texas, and commanded in the 
battle of Plum Creek, in the summer of 1840. After this he returned to 
Mississippi and resumed his plauting operations. He died near Natchez 
in 1857. 

Ingram, lux. — Was the first alcalde of Matagorda municipality, in 1834; 
ill 1836 he was a member of the Texas Congress, and Speaker of the House 
of Representatives. 

Ingram, Seth. — Was one of Austin's surveyors; laid out the town of 
San Felipe, and surveyed most of the land on Old Caney and Peach creeks, 
and the Lower Colorado river; died in Matagorda, in 1857. 

IsBELL, William. — A pioneer in Texas, had been on Indian campaigns 
during the colonial period ; was one of the storming party that took San 
Antonio, in 1835 ; a private in Captain Heard's company, in 1836, at San 
Jacinto. During the Republic was a member of Captain Mark B. Lewis' 
Ranging company; lived in Burleson county; became blind in 1856, and 
died in 1877. 

Jack, Patrick C. — A lawyer; came from Alabama to Texas in 1832, and 
was soon afterward arrested by Colonel Bradburn, at Anahuac. In 1837-8 
he was in the Texas Congress, and soon after the close of his Congressional 
term was appointed a District Judge. He died of yellow fever, in Hous- 
ton, August 4th, 1844. 

Jack, William H.— A brother of the above, came to Texas in 1830 ; was 
a member of the Committee of Safety of Columbia in 1835, and also con- 
nected with the army of the West the same year; fought as a private at 
San Jacinto; the same year was in Burnet's cabinet as Secretary of State. 
At a later period he represented Brazoria county in the Texas Congress. 
He contracted the yellow fever in Galveston, and was taken down with the 
disease after he reached Rnnnel's plantation, on the Brazos, and died 
August 20th, 1844, sixteen days after his brother had died of the same 
disease in Houston. 

Johnson, Frank W. — Was born in Virginia, in 1794 ; came to Texas in 
18-^6 ; in 1830 was surveyor in Ayish district; in 1831, alcalde at San Felipe; 
in 1832 he was elected commander of the forces assembled at Anahnac to 
resist the aVbitrary measures of Bradburn, and to release Jack, Edwards, 
and other prisoners; in 1835 was Adjutant, first to Austin and then to 
Burleson; commanded one of the storming parties that entered San Anto- 
nio, and, after the death of Milam, was in command of the whole party 
when the city surrendered. In the spring of 1836, he, in company with 
Grant and Morris, was preparing for a descent upon Matamoras, when his 
small party was completely surprised at San Patricio, by the Mexicans 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 571 

iinder Urrea. The Mexican citizens of the place had been notified of the 
^approach of Urrea, and advised to keeps lights burning in their houses, so 
that their friends might not interrupt them. As it happened, tliat night 
Johnson was writing till a late hour, and by this means, he, and two or three 
companions escaped, and made their way safely into the interior of Texas. 
Colonel Johnson is still living in Austin. 

Johnson, Moses, — Treasurer of the Republic under Jones' administration 
Died of yellow fever at Lavaca, in 1853. 

Johnson, M. T. — A native of South Carolina; came to Texas in 1839, and 
settled in Shelby county, which he represented in Congress during the 
Republic; in the Mexican "War he was Captain of a company; afterwards 
Lieutenant Colonel of Bell's regiment of rangei's, and in command of the 
district of Red River; in 1860, by order of Governor Houston, he raised a 
regiment of rangers for frontier defence. In 1866, Colonel Johnson was a 
member of the Reconstruction Convention. His health was failing and he 
died in May, after the adjournment of the convention, in the city of Austin. 

Johnston, Albert Sidney.— A native of Kentucky ; graduated at West 
Point, in )826, and was assigned to duty in the Sixth Infantry. After hav. 
Ing served in the Black Hawk War, in 1832, he resigned his commission in 
the army; in 1836 he came to Texas, and early in 1837 was appointed by 
President Houston commander of the army in the West. He was to super- 
sede General Felix Huston. A personal dilBcalty occurred between the 
two generals, resulting in a duel, in which Johnston was severely wounded. 
Unable to assume command, he resigned, and opened a plantation in Bra- 
zoria county. When Lamar became President, Joluiston was appointed 
Secretai-y of War, and in 1839 organized the expedition for the expulsion of 
the Cherokees from East Texas. In 1846 he was elected colonel of the Second 
Regiment of Texas volunteers in the Mexican War. At the expiration of 
their term of service, he was re-commissioned in the regular armj'^ and a[j- 
pointed Inspector General. In 1849 he was Paymaster, and soon afterward 
assigned to the command of the Second Cavalry, then doing duty on the 
Texas frontier. For a number of years Colonel Johnston made his home 
in the city of Austin. In 1855, he went with General Harney to the plains, 
and the next year. Colonel Johnston was assigned to the connnand of Salt 
Lake, where his energetic movements completely overawed the Mormons, 
and prevented a serious outbreak among them. In 1860 he was transferred 
to the Department of the Pacific, with headquarters at San Francisco. The 
next year, he resigned his commission in the army, with the view of ofier- 
ing his sword to the Confederacy. He came overland, through Texas, and 
was at once assigned to the command of the army then before Bowling Green, 
in Kentucky. He rightly conjectured tliat, Avith the opening campaign in 
1862, the Federals would attempt to penetrate the Confederacy through 
Kentucky. He thex-efore strongly fortified a line of posts, beginning at 
Columbus, and including Island No. 10. in the Mississippi river, and ex- 
lending east to Fort Henry, Fort Donaldson, Bowling Green, Mill Springs 



572 HISTORY OF TEXAS, 

and Cumberland Gap. The success which had crowned the Confederate 
arms in the East, inspired those in the AVest with great confidence. They 
believed that Nashville would be as easily protected as Richmond had been. 
General Johnston, however, was not so sanguine. The army was only about 
half as large as he expected to find it; nor was it in as thorough a state of 
orgaization as the army in Virginia. He had a much longer line of defence 
than that in front of Eichmond ; and in a territory penetrated by rivers nav- 
igable by gun-boats. 

As Johnston expected, the campaign of 1862 opened early and vigoi'ously. 
The first point in his lines assailed was Mill Springs. This was captured 
by General Thomas, January 19th ; the Confederate General Zollicoffer having 
been killed in its defence. Just at this juncture, there was an extraordinary 
rise in the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. A flotilla of gun-boats, under 
the command of Commodore Foote, ascended the Tennessee, and on the sixth 
of February attacked and destroyed Fort Henry. Immediately descending 
the stream, he was able to ascend the Cumberland for a combined naval and 
army attack upon Fort Donelson. On the 16th of February, after a three- 
days' fight, this important post, with its garrison of 12,000 men, surrendered 
to General Ulysses S. Grant. General Johnston's headquarters were still at 
Bowling Green ; but the loss of these important posts rendered a retreat to a 
new line of defence a matter of absolute necessity. He accordingly fell back 
to Corinth, Mississippi, leaving the most of Tennessee in the hands of the 
Federals. To the Confederacy, this was an irreparable loss ; and it Avas 
keenly felt. The newspaper press, and it was said some of Mr. Davis' 
Cabinet, reflected severely upon General Johnston. These criticisms keenly 
touched his sensitive nature, and he determined, when an opportunity 
ofiered, to retrieve his reputation, though no imputation had ever been cast 
upon his personal courage or patriotism. Grant, flushed with his victory at 
Donelson, hastened up the Tennessee to Pittsburg Landing, far in advance 
of the support expected under General Buel, and Johnston seeing this, by 
forced marches, hoped to fall u^pou Grant before he could receive reinforce- 
ments. It was a bold move and successfully executed. The Federals were 
taken completely by surprise. During the fight on the first day, April sixth, 
the Confederates captured 3,000 prisoners and a number of battle-flags, and 
at night had possession of the battle-ground. Late in the afternoon, while 
J ihnston, in an ex^josed position, was giving some orders, he received a 
riHe-ball in his leg. Had he attended promptly to his wound, it would not 
necessarily have been mortal, but it was neglected, until, faint with the loss 
of blood, he had to be lifted from his horse. He soon afterward expired; 
(Iving on the battle-field, as a true soUlicr would prefer to die. Grant 
massed his forces on the bank of the river, under the protection of his gun- 
boats; that night his reinforcements arrived, and the next day the tide of 
battle turned and the Confederates, under Beauregard, retreated. The re- 
mains of General Johnston were temporarily buried in New Orleans. In 
1866, the Legislature of Texas made an aijpropriation to have his remains 
brought to his old home in Austin for final interment in the State burying- 
gronnd, in that city. Albert Sidney Jolniston was a man of marked ability, 
amiable disposition, unaflected modesty, dauntless coui'age, and irreproach- 




THOMAS WILLIAM WARD. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 575 

able integrity and purity of character. His loss was severely felt by his 
companions in arms. 

Jones, Oliver— One of Austin's earliest colonists. In 1824 he com- 
manded an expedition against the Caranchua Indians; in 1829-30, he was 
Alguazil, or Sheriff, of Austin's colony; in 1834, he represented Texas in the 
Legislature of Coahuila and Texas, at Saltillo. He was in the Annexation 
Convention of 1845 ; died in Houston in 1868. 

Jones, Randal— Was a captain in the war of 1812, In 181 4 he visited the 
Sabine River, with the intention of aiding Toledo in re-organiziug the Re- 
publican Army of the North. That enterprise was broken up b}°the vigi- 
lance of the United States officials, and for five years Jones was a trader 
among the Indians and Mexicans in Texas. In 1818, he enjoyed the hospi- 
tality of Lalleraand on the Trinity River, and of Lafitte in Galveston. In 
1819, he joined Long's expedition ; on his way, he conducted Mrs. Long 
from her sister's, Mrs. Calvitt's, on Red River, to Nacogdoches. He was 
immediately dispatched by Long to the Brazos, intending to descend that 
river to Galveston, which was then supposed to be at the mouth of that 
river. While the party were at the mouth of the Navisot, preparing skiffs, 
they were attacked by the Mexicans, under Perez, and driven into the woods 
with nothing on which to subsist. They made their way to the villages of 
the friendly Indians on the Trinity River, and thence to Louisiana. He re- 
turned to Texas as a colonist in January, 1822, and settled at Richmond, 
then known as Fort Bend. The next year he revisited Louisiana, and 
traded a negro boy for sixty head of cattle, which he succeeded in bringing, 
without loss, to his new home on the Brazos. This was the first considera- 
ble stock in Brazoria county, though Mr, Morton before this had one or two 
milk-cows. In 1824, Austin appointed Jones captain of the miUtia, and he 
had a severe fight with a party of Caranchua Indians, on what has since 
been called Jones Creek, in Brazoria county. October 12th, 1824, he was 
married to Miss Polly Andrews. As there was no priest in the country, 
they were married by bond. They named their first child Wiley Martin. 
In 1835, Captain Jones was a member of the Consultation at San Felipe. 
Late in life, he lost his eyesight. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, 
Judge Gustave Cook, in Houston, in 1873, aged 86 years. 

Jones, Dr. Anson.— Was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 
1798 ; licensed to practice medicine in 1820 ; and after spending two years 
in Venezuela, came to Texas, and settled in Brazoria, in 1833, At a public 
meeting in Brazoria in December, 1835, he strongly advocated the declara- 
tion of Texas independence, and presented a resolution calling for tiie 
Convention which met in Washington, in March, 1836. When'^the war 
broke out, Dr. Jones enlisted as a private in Captain Calder's company, 
but was soon afterward appointed surgeon in Burleson's regiment. At 
Harrisburg he was left with the sick, but after providing for their proper 
care, he left them under charge of Dr. Wm. P. Smith, and hastened on to 
the battle-field and took his place in the ranks, until he was summoned to 

32 



576 HISTORY OF TEXAS 

the care of the wounded. In 1837 he represented Brazoria county in Con- 
gress. In 1838 he was INIinister to the United States, and while absent was 
elected to the Senate, of which he was elected President in the absence of 
the Vice-President. On the 17th of May, 1810, he was married to Mrs. 
Mary M'Crory. During Houston's second term, Jones was Secretary of 
State, and conducted with marked ability the foreign correspondence; and 
at the close of the term, was elected President of the Republic. This was 
in 1844, a most critical period in our history. The question of annexation 
to the United. States was publicly discussed, and amicable relations had to 
be maintained with otlier foreign powers. 

In Texas, annexation was a very popular measure, and a class of noisy 
politicians raised a clamor against President Jones, because he did not 
hasten it forward more rapidly. So bitter was the feeling, that at a called 
session of Congress in June, 1844, a proposition was introduced to depose 
the President, and institute a government ad interim. This was voted 
down, and so was another resolution, giving tlie President a vote of thanks 
for his services. But Dr. Jones had been misunderstood, and when all 
preUminary questions had been satisfactorily adjusted, he issued his procla- 
mation for an election of delegates to the Annexation Convention. This 
was a popular move. By fixing the ratio of representation according to 
population, he satisfied East Texas; and by convening the Convention in 
Austin, the capital which had been abandoned by President Houston, he 
satisfied the West. 

AVhen annexation was consummated. Dr. Jones retired to his place, called 
Barrington, in Washington county; and for eleven years remained in pri- 
vate life. In 1857, some of his friends brought his name forward as a 
candidate for the United States Senate. He had not filled out half tne time 
of his Presidential term, when he was displaced by the act of annexation. 
Almost every other promineiit Texan had been rewarded with either a 
State or Federal oflice. He alone had remained secluded upon his planta- 
tion. He felt that he had been overslaughed, and when his name was 
brought forward conspicuously for the Senate, he felt gratified at the pros- 
pect ofbeingat last remembered, for his sacrifice in prematurely surren- 
dering the Presidential office. But even then, he had forebodings that he 
'would be defeated. Commenting upon a letter, in which Hon. Hamilton 
Stuart had said to him, " Public opinion will yet do you justice," Dr. Jones 
writes, '' But it will probably be after I am dead." Wigfall and Hemphill, 
two South Carolinians, were elected to tlie Senate, and Jones was left in 
private life. 

In 1857 he sold his Barrington place, with a view of settling on the 
coast, between Galveston and Houston. On the 7th of January, 1858, he 
was at the old Capitol Hotel in Houston; he then seemed in low spirits, and 
in a sad tone remarked to a friend, " Here, in this house, twenty years 
ao-o, I commenced my political career in Texas, as a member of the Senate, 
and here I would like to close it." Not long afterward, a pistol shot was 
heard in his room, and Dr. Jones was found in a dying condition. The 
country was shocked at this sad occurrence. The next year, a biographical 
sketch appeared in the Texas Almanac, prepared by his friend, ex-Presi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 577 

-dent Burnet. Heferring- to this case, in connection with that of the late 
lamented Rusk, Judge Burnet says : 

''■ Both these distinguished patriots had succeeded in all the objects of an 
honorable ambition, probably even beyond their own aspirations. What, 
then, are the unfortunate circumstances that so prey upon the mind as to 
render life a burden, even in the midst of family endearments, of friends, 
and honors and distinctions? All we can say in explanation, is to refer to 
the undoubted fact that Dr. Jones was subject to occasional paroxysms of 
mental gloom and deep despondency, which he could not overcomeor con- 
trol, and which often well-nigh destroyed his balance of mind. During the 
latter years of his life, this unhappy temperament had gradually assumed 
more and more the character of a disease, under the influence of a physical 
derangement to which he was subject. Those who have any knowledge 
■of this painful mental depression will need no further explanation, and 
those who best understand the intensity of suflering from this cause, to 
which the most sensitive and noble minds are chiefly subject, will be the 
last to cast reproach upon the memory of the unhappy victim. In this 
connection we may appropriately conclude by giving an extract from Dr. 
Jones's journal, kept while he was performing a journey to the North, in 
1838. He was in New Orleans when he made the following entry in 'his 
journal, on hearing of Col. Grayson's death: ' I shall be surprised rt no 
one's committing suicide, after hearing of Col. Grayson's doing so. It is 
the first time in my life that any one in the circle of my acquaintance has 
done such an act, and it has shocked me more than the death of a dozen 
■others would have done, in the usual course. I believe party abuse has 
"been the cause, acting upon some predisposition to morl)id melancholy. 
Collingsworth's drowning himself was a thing in course; I had expected it, 
as I knew him to be deranged, and when excited, almost mad. In all 
the annals of suicide, perhaps no parallel to these two cases can be found. 
Two years ago they were both in this house, and on their way to Washing- 
ton together, as Commissioners on the part of Texas, to procure recogni- 
tion, etc., and at the time of their death, both were candidates for°the 
highest office in the Republic, and both committed suicide about the same 
time, and at the distance of 2,000 miles from each other, both at the time 
holding high and responsible offices in the Republic of Texas. Grayson's 
death is a great national calamity. ' Further on in his journal he says his 
suspicions as to the cause of Col. Grayson's suicide were fully confirmed." 

JoKDAN, S. W.— Rendered efficient service as a captain in the Texas army, 
in 1836-38. At the organization of the expedition for the establishment oi 
the ''Republic of the Rio Grande," in 1839, Jordan was elected Colonel. A, 
the battle of Alcantra, he commanded the Americans, while Col. Zapata 
commanded the Mexicans. Zapata himself was a good soldier, and a good 
Republican, but most of the Mexicans abandoned the field and lef^ tlie 
Americans to bear the brunt of the battle. After this, Jordan thought Ca- 
nalis, their commander, was no match for his opponent. General Aris'ta, and 
he returned to Texas. A year later, such is the uncertainty in Mexican 
politics and politicians. Arista appeared in Yucatan, and " pronounced " 



578 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

against the Centralists. Jordan hastened to New Orleans, to enlist men for 
the new revolutionary leader. By some mishap, the vessel in vfhich he and 
his recruits expected to embark for Yucatan, sailed without them. This> 
■with other disappointments, preyed upon his mind, and Avhile depressed in 
spirits he took an overdose of laudanum and terminated his life. 

Karnes, Henry — "Was a native of Tennessee ; early in life he attached 
himself to a company of trappers on the frontier of Arkansas. The com- 
jiany disbanded on the head of Red Kiver. Karnes and three companions 
crossed the country to the Trinity River, where, the Indians having stolen 
their horses, they constructed a canoe and descended the stream to Robbins' 
Ferry, From there Karnes crossed over to the Brazos, and for a consider- 
able time found employment as an overseer on the Groce plantation. He 
responded to the first call for volunteers at the breaking out of the revolu- 
tion in 1835, and distinguished himself at the taking of the city of San 
Antonio. He siezed a crowbar and dashed forward and dug a hole through 
a stone wall, into a house, for a new and advanced position. He proved 
one of the best cavalry scouts and spies, and commanded a company of 
cavalry at San Jacinto. After the battle he went west to Matamoras to ef- 
fect an exchange of prisoners, and was himself thrown into prison; he, 
however, soon effected his escape. In 1837, he was Indian Agent ; in 1838-9, 
in the Ranging service, and in the latter year received a severe wound in a 
single combat- with a chief. At one time he was taken prisoner, and the 
savages attempted to wash his red hair white. He died in San Antonio, in 
1840, from the effects of the wound received the previous year. Captain 
Karnes was wholly uneducated. It is questionable if he knew hoAv to spell 
his own name, which in early documents is variously spelled; but he was 
inured to hardships; cool, reticent, watchful, and a stranger to the sensa- 
tion of fear ; one of a class of men to whom Texas owes a lasting debt of 
gratitude. 

Kaufman, David S.— A native of Pennsylvania; came to East Texas in 
1837, and was the next year elected to Congress. He was aid to General 
Rusk in the Kickapoo fight, in 1839. In 1840, President Jones sent him as 
a diplomatic agent to AVashington, but as that government had already 
adopted the bill for annexation, he was not received in his official capacity. 
In 1846, he was selected to represent the Eastern District in the United 
States Congress, a position to which he was twice re-elected. He died in 
the city of Washington, on the last day of the year 1851, from the effects of 
a wound received some years previously, in Austin. 

Keen AN, Dr. C.G — Had been a surgeon in the United States army; came 
to Texas in the days of the Republic; was elected to the first Legislature of 
the State, and was Speaker of the House; died in Huntsville, in 1870. 

Kemper, Samuel — Was a native of Virginia, and an officer in the expedi- 
tion organized by Magec for the inva«;ion of Texas, in 1812. After the 
death of Magee, at Goliad, Kemper was elected to the command, and was 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 579 

the commander of the Americans at the battle of Rosillo. To him Salcedo 
surrendered, as he declined to hand his sword to his former friend, Giitier- 
res. After the massacre of the Mexican officers by Delgado, Kemper re- 
turned to his native State. We may add, that Kennedy is authority for the 
statement that Kemper returned to Texas just in time to participate in the 
disastrous battle of Medina, but we believe this a mistake. He lived and 
died in his native State. 

Kendall, George Wilkins — The founder, and for a long period, the ed- 
itor-in-chief of the New Or\ea,us,Picayune ; was, in 18-iO, connected, as an in- 
vited guest, with the Santa Fe expedition. Though a citizen of the United 
States, with a iiassport from the Mexican Consul at New Orleans, he, with the 
other members of the ill-fated party, was disarmed and treated as a pris- 
oner of war. After suffering untold hardships and indignities, be was 
finally, at the solicitation of the American Minister at Mexico, released. He 
wrote a history of the Santa Fe expedition, in two interesting volumes. 
After annexation, Mr. Kendall established a sheep-ranche in Western Texas, 
in the county that bears his name, where he died in 1867. 

Kerr, James — A native of Missouri ; came to Texas in 1H25, and was 
surveyor in De Witt's and DeLeon's colonies. He first settled in Gonzales, 
but that settlement having been broken up by the Indians, he settled on the 
Lavaca River, in Jackson county; was a member of the Convention at 
San Felipe, in 1833, and of the Executive Coimcil, in 1835. In January, 
1836, he issued an address advising against a declaration of Texas indepen- 
dence, as he then thought it premature. When it was made, he entered 
heartily into the measure ; was elected to the Convention, in 1836, but could 
not leave his family in their exposed condition to attend its sessions. He 
died at his plantation, in 1850. 

Kinney, H. L. — A native of Pennsylvania; came to Western Texas in 
1838; in 1846, was one of the founders of Corpus Christi; after annexation, 
served several times in the Legislature; in 1855, he attempted to get up a 
filibustering expedition to Central America. He contracted for 30,000,000 
acres of land, for which he was to pay $500,000; the land was in the Mus- 
quito Territory. He became a candidate for Governor of Greytown, but 
failed to be elected. All his Central American schemes fell through, and 
his men went to Nicaragua and joined William Walker, who was then 
called '' The Grey-eyed Man of Destiny," though his star, too, went speedily 
into eclipse. Kinney returned to Texas, and was filling some minor office 
on the Rio Grande, when, in 1861, he became involved in the contests in 
Matamoras, between the Rohos and the Crinolinos. In one of tlieir petty 
fights, while attempting to pass through a breach in a wall, he was shot and 
instantly killed. 

KuYKENDALL, Abner — A sou-iu law of William Gates ; came with the 
Gates family to the Ri'azos, m 1821-2. He bronglit several head of cattle 
and a few hogs. In colomal times, he was a captain in several expeditious 



580 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

against the Indians. In 1834, he was killed in the town of San Felipe by a 
man by Ihe name of Clayton. Clayton was arrested, tried, convicted, and 
hung for the murder. This was probably the first regular legal execution 
in Texas. 

Labadie, Dr. N. D.-A surgeon of Anahuac, in 1832, and also in the 
battlo of San Jacinto. He was one of the first to engage in business 
in Galveston, where he opened a drug store. He died in that city in 

18G9. 

L^FiTTE Jean— Who has been called the Pirate of the Gulf, was a 
Frenchman by birth, and a sailor by profession. In a duel in Charleston, 
South Carolina, about an affair of the heart, he killed his antagonist; after 
which he adopted the life of a buccaneer. In 1810, he took up ^^^^ headquar- 
ters at Barataria. In 1813, Governor Claiborne, of Louisiana, oflfered $500 
reward for Lafitte"s head. The latter, not to be outdone in that species of 
generosity, oflfered $5,000 for the head of the Governor. Lafitte's cruisers 
were seriously interfering with the commerce of the Gulf, and on the 16th of 
June 1814, the establishment at Barataria was broken up by Commodore 
Patte'rson, of the United States navy. Lafitte declined a commission in the 
British navv, during the war with the Unite<l States, but was finally 
employed by General Jackson, in the defence of New Odeans. For his 
services in the great battle, January 8th, 1815, Lafitte received a full par- 
don from the President of the United States. But after peace he retunied 
to his old piratical calling. In 1817, after the departure of Aury from Gal- 
veston, Lafitte established his headquarters on that island, where he built a 
villa-e called Campeachy. Lafitte, at that time, had a commission from 
HeiTera, the Minister of the Republicans in Mexico, then at New Orleans; 
■ and in the name of the Mexican Republic he denominated himself Gov- 
ernor of Galveston. Lafitte's orders were not to interfere with American 
commerce, but his men were reckless, and rarely permitted a valuable 
cargo to escape. This became so notorious that, in 1821, Lieutenant Kear- 
ney, with the United States brig Enterprise, was sent to warn Lafitte to 
leave the island. The pirate received Kearney, and entertained him with a 
princely hospitality; but when he found that the Lieutenant's orders were 
imperative, he called together his followers, and paid them ofi"; and takmg 
his favorite ship, the Pride, with Lieutenant Cochran and about 100 picked 
men, he sailed out of the harbor, leaving forever the Texas coast. On the 
day Lafitte left Galveston, Long and Milam entered the harbor on their 
way to the West. Cochran became a Commodore in the Mexican navy, 
Lafitte died at Silan, in Yucatan, in 1826. 

Lallemand, GENERAL.-An exiled ofiicer of Napoleon, in 1817 attempted 
to form a settlement on the Trinity river, in Texas. Randal Jones, who 
visited the settlement, thought they intended to revive the French claim ta 
the province. The Spaniards viewed them with suspicion; the Indiana 
were troublesome, and the exiled Frenchmen were poor colonists The 
attempt to raise grapes for a vineyard was unsuccessful, and the settlement 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 581 

dissolved. Lallemand became a citizen of the United States, and published 
a Treatise on Artirery. 

Lamar, Mirabeau B. — Was born in Louisville, Georgia, August 16lh, 
1798 ; belonged to an old Hugenot family. In early life was private secre- 
tary to Governor Troupe. In 1828, he was editor of a States'-rights paper 
and a candidate for Congress. The nominating Convention imposed some 
conditions, to which he was unwilling to submit, and he was defeated. In 
1835, he visited Texas, and made a formal declaration of his intention to 
become a citizen, and in a public speech at the town of Washington, advo- 
cated the declaration of Texan independence. He revisited his native 
State to complete his arrangements for a removal. When he heard of the 
invasion of the country by Santa Anna, he hurried back, landing at Vel- 
asco in March ; where, not finding any mode of conveyance to the interior, 
he started up the river on foot. He reached the army when encamped at 
Gi'oce's and enlisted as a private soldier. In the preliminary skirmish at 
San Jacinto, on the 20th of April, he greatly distinguished himself by rescu- 
ing 60I. Lane, who was surrounded by a body of Mexican cavalry. Lamar 
heroically dashed over one Mexican, killed another, and disarmed a third. 
On the next day, so famous in our history, Lamar commanded the cav- 
alry. General Houston, in his official report, says: ** Our cavalry, sixty- 
one in number, commanded by Colonel M. B. Lamar, (whose gallant and 
daring conduct on the preceding day had attracted the admiration of his 
comrades, and called him to that. station,) placed on our extreme right, 
completed our line. Our calvary had charged and routed that of the enemy 
upon the right, and given pursuit to the fugitives, which did not cease until 
they arrived at the bridge." 

Soon after the battle, Lamar was invited into Burnet's cabinet, as Secre- 
tary of War. He opposed the treaty by which Santa Anna was set at liber- 
ty, but generously sustained the President when that officer was threatened 
with a drum-head court-martial. He even said that posterity would, with 
great unanimity, approve the humane policy pursued towards the captive 
President of Mexico. General Rusk having asked to be relieved from the 
command of the army in the West, Lamar was sent to relieve him; but 
■vyhen he arrived, there was a prospect of another Mexican invasion, and 
the men desired Rusk to retain the command, and he did so. At the first 
election, Lamar was elected Vice-President. The duties of this office he 
discharged with such satisfaction that, when Gen. Houston's first term was 
out, Lamar was, by a very handsome majority, elected President of Texas. 

The Texas Almanac for 1858 contains a biographical sketch of President 
Lamar, from which we take the following extracts* 

" The policy of Lamar's administration embraced four leading objects. 
First — the defense of the country, and especially that of the frontier, which 
was crying aloud for protection against the merciless savages. Second — 
the obtaining of the recognition of our independence by the principal mari- 
time powers of Europe, and of establishing with them the best commercial 
relations. Third- the purification of the different departments of Govern- 
oQeut, and establishing a rigid responsibility among public officers of every 



582 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

grade and class. Fourth — the creation of an educational fund by adequate 
appropriation of land for that purpose. These ends were not only carried 
out effectually by Lamar, to the honor of himself and glory of the nation, 
but the blessings that flowed from them were immediately felt by the peace 
and safety that reigned at home, as well as by the character and import- 
ance which the country acquired abroad." 

" We will close this part of our hasty and imperfect sketch with one 
remark respecting the expenses of Gen. Lamar's administration. It will 
be remembered that he came into office when the nation had neither 
credit nor money. Yet he had tlie frontier to protect — the seat of Gov- 
erimient to remove on the extreme borders — to erect all necessary public 
buildings — to support the Government — pay our foreign ministers — provide 
for the army — keep the navy on the Gulf — extensive mail routes to estab- 
lish — and to meet a multiplicity of demands, growing out of unforseen 
contingencies, incidental to the condition of the country; and yet he con- 
trived to achieve all these ends, without exceeding in a single instance, to 
the amount of one cent, the annual appropriations made by Congress for 
the support of the Government, including even the expenses of the Santa Fe 
Expedition, the surveying of the University lands, and other heavy dis- 
bursements which he was compelled to assume the responsibility of making. 
It may be safely asserted that no Chief Magistrate ever effected so much 
with so little expense to the nation he ruled, and that he should have accom- 
plished so much in so short a period, and secured so many blessings with 
such limited resources, must ever be a matter of surprise, and cannot fail 
to place General Lamar among the wisest statesmen and the pui'est patri- 
ots of the age." 

At the commencement of the Mexican war, Lamar was appointed Divi- 
sion Inspector, under General Henderson. At the taking of Monterey, he 
behaved with conspicuous gallantry. In 1847 he was Post Commander at 
Laredo, where he effectually held the Indians in check. On his return to 
Texas he was elected to the Legislature. In 1851 he married, for his second 
wife. Miss Maffit, daughter of the celebrated Rev. John Newland Maffit, 
and sister of Commodore Maffit of the Confederate Navy, and settled on a 
plantation near liichmond. Fort Bend county. After this, he was for a 
short period United States Minister to the Argentine Confederation. He 
died at his home, in Texas, December 19th, 1859. 

The loss of his first wife, and death of a charming daughter, cast a cloud 
over the early years of General Lamar's manhood. Nor did the cares of 
public life seem to dissipate his gloom. At that period, those in his com- 
pany often noticed a deep-drawn sigh, as from a bosom still pierced with 
anguish. Such was the state of his mind when the writer first formed his 
acquaintance. In later years the elasticity of his spirits returned. He 
possessed a fine literary taste, and wrote some popular poetry. We tran- 
scribe a stanza, descriptive of his domestic state, published in 1857: 

" Like yon declining sun, my life 

Is goiiif? down all calm and mild, 
Illumined by an angel wife, 

And sweetened bv a clierub cliild." 




E. M. WILLIAMSON. 



• BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 585 

La. Salle, Robert. — Cavalier de La Salle was a native of Normandy 
France. Abandoning' the priesthood, for which he had been educated, he 
appeared as an adventurer in Canada, in 1668, He soon entered 
the service of Governor Frontenac, and was placed iu command of 
a fort named in honor of that functionary. Visiting his jiative land, he 
made a favorable impression upon Louis XIV, who conferred upon him a 
title of nobility, and gave him a monopoly of the fur trade of Lake Outa- 
I'io. His speculation proved unfortunate, and he turned his attention to 
other and grander schemes. West of the great lakes a river had been 
fottnd flowing to the south ; ten degrees lower down, DeSoto had discovered 
a large stream flowing in the same direction. La Salle conjectured that the 
two rivers were identical, and flowed, not as supjiosed, into the South Sea, 
but into the Gulf of Mexico. If so, a new city, opening up a new route 
for the commerce of the Western Continent, might be founded near its 
mouth. Collecting a few men, he embarked in some small boats, and 
started down the stream, which he named Colbert, after the great French 
Minister of that name. He reached the Gulf of Mexico in April, 1682. 
Taking possession of the country by what was called the " process verbal," 
" Henceforth," said he, " my God and my king are supreme, forever, over 
the iuunmerable souls and immeasurable lands of this great Continent." 

La Salle immediately I'eturned to France, where the importance of the 
discovery he had made was duly appreciated. Louis furnished him with 
the men and ships to plant a colony on the banks of the great I'iA^er. The 
voyage was unpropitious ; one of his ships was captured by the Spaniards ; 
they were unnecessarily delayed at the West India Islands ; and when they 
reached the Continent, were driven too far down the coast. According to 
the journal of Joutel, they first effected a landing near Corpus Christi, and 
entered a river, which they named the Oro, (Nueces). This was early in 
January, 1685. Re-embarking, they sailed up the coast, making an occa- 
sional landing; and on February 13th, (says Joutel, but other accounts say 
the 18th) , the " Belle," one of the ships, entered Pass Cavallo, and landed on 
the west side of a bay named San Bernardo, (Matagorda). On the 20th, 
by the obstinacy of the Captain, the " Amiable " was lost in trying to cross 
the bar. At first the Indians were friendly, but subjects of controversy 
arose, and on the fifth of March two of La Salle's men, Ory and Desloges, 
were killed by them. There had never been a good understanding between 
La Salle and Beaujeau, his naval connnander. The latter was a pompous 
little man, proud of his epaulettes, and unwilling to submit to the authority 
of one whom he regarded as of inferior rank. On the 14th of March, 
Beaujeau, with the best remaining vessel, the " Joli," sailed for France 
with a portion of the ammunition and stores intended for the colony. 
La Salle now had but one vessel left, the " Belle," which the king had given 
him as a personal present. There Avere with him about one hundred and 
eighty persons. For a better location than that which the coast atlbrdcd, 
he, in Jiine, with abotit seventy persons, crossed the bay, and ascended a 
river, which, from the number of buffaloes on its bank>!, they named the 
" Lavaca." (Joutel calls it the River of Beeves. It may be remarked, 
that Joutel everywhere calls the buflalo beeves, and the deer wild-goats) . 



586 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Joutel, with thirty men, remained at the fort, near Alligator Head, until 
July, when they joined their companions at Fort St.' Louis, (now Dimitt'& 
Point). During the summer, various parties were* sent to hunt for the 
Mississippi river. In one of these excursions, the " Belle " was sent across 
Matagorda bay,, and Avas lost somewhere near Dog Island. This left the 
little party with no means of leaving the coast. 

In January, 1G8G, La Salle left Joutel in chai'ge of the fort, and, with 
twenty companions, started to the eastward. He went as far as tiie Brazos 
river, which, as he had the misfortune to have one of his men devoured by 
an alligator, he called the " Maligne." He returned to the fort in March,. 
having lost five of his men ; but he had satisfied himself that he was entirely 
too far west for what Joutel calls the " fatal river." The subsequent events 
of his expedition have been reviewed in the early chapters of this volume. 

La Salle was one of the most distinguished of that class of adventurers 
that Europe, in the seventeenth century, sent to make explorations in the 
wilderness of the new world. He was a knight of spotless purity, of 
dauntless courage, and of unbounded self-reliance. His loyalty to his 
sovereign was of the nature of a religious sentiment; while his devotion to 
the Church would have stood the test of martyrdom. " For force of will 
and vast conceptions," says Bancroft, " for various knowledge and quick 
adaptation of his genius to untried circumstances, for a sublime magna, 
nimity that resigned itself to the will of Heaven and yet triumphed over 
aflliction by energy of purpose, and unfaltering hope, he had no superior 
among his countrymen. * * * After the beginning of the colonization 
of Upper Canada, he projected the discovery of the Mississippi, from the 
falls of St. Anthony to its mouth; and he will be remembered, through all 
time, as the tiither of colonization in the great central valley of the "West." 

Lathrop, J. T. K. — A Captain in the Texas Navy. In 1840 he was in 
command of the steamer Zavalla. Alter the loss of that vessel he entei'ed 
the merchant service, and took command of the steamship Neptune, run- 
ning between New Orleans and Texas. He died in Houston in 1844. 

Lester, John S. — Came to Texas in 1834; the next year he went on an 
Indian campaign with Colonel John H. Moore, and was in the Consulta- 
tion, as a representative from Bastrop; in 1837-38, he was in the Texas 
Congress, and was afterwards Chief Justice of Fayette county, in which he 

still lives. 

Lewis, Iua R. — A prominent citizen of Matagorda, who acted a conspic- 
uous part in the Revolution of 1S35-36. He died in 18G7, at the residence 
of his son-in-law, Major M. Austin Bryan, at Independence. 

Lewis, "William P. — The betrayer of the Santa Fe expedition, was a 
native of Philadelphia. Beibre he appeared in Texas he had been a mer- 
chants' clerk in Constantinople and various points on the Mediteranean 
sea, and in France, in IS.'Jo he was in the employment of AVilliam H. 
MaGoffin, then engaged in the Santa Fe trade. He started from Santa Fe to 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 587 

Texas in the" spring of 1836 ; nad four companions, Wallace, Rowland, 
Beaumont and Laws; on the way, in a figlit with the Indians, Laws wa& 
killed and Howland wounded ; (the latter was afterwards killed in the 
Santa Fe expedition) . Wallace died just after reaching Victoria, and Beau- 
mont was killed by the Indians in 1837. Lewis was a Captain in the expe- 
dition to Santa Fe; and as he was well acquainted there, and could speak 
the language, he was sent with the advanced party. He secured his own 
safety and a share of the goods taken out, by betraying his cnmpanionfi. 
His treason excited the disgust of the citizens of Santa Fe, and he left the 
Continent for the Sandwich [slands. 

Linn, John J. — A native of Ireland ; engaged in mercantile business in 
Victoria in 1831; in 1832 was Mayor of Victoria; in 1836 he was in the 
Executive Council at San Felipe, and in the Texas Congress in 1838. He 
still lives in Victoria, 

Lipscomb, Abnek S. — Was born in South Carolina in 1789; studied law 
in the office of John C. Calhoun, and commenced to practice in Alabama in 
1810; in 1819 he was District Judge, and from 1823 to 1835, held the office 
of Chief Justice of Alabama; came to Texas in 1839, and was Secretary of 
State under Lamar ; was a member of the Annexation Convention in 1845, 
and was appointed one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court at 
the organization of the State government, and held this office until his 
death in 1856. 

Lubbock, Frank R. — Was born in South Carolina; came to Texas and 
commenced a mercantile business in Houston in 1836; in 1837 he was a 
clerk in the Texas Congress; in 1838 he was Comptroller of the Treasury; 
from 1841 to 1857, he was District Clerk of'Harris county ; in 1858, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor ; in 1860, a delegate to the Charleston Convention; in 
1861, Governor of Texas; in 1864 he was on the staff of President Davis, 
as volunteer aid; since the war he has resided in Galveston; in 1878, 
was elected to the office of State Treasurer. 

Lubbock, Thomas S. — Brother of the above; came to Texas with the 
New Orleans Greys in 1835 ; in 1840 he was a Lieutenant in the Santa Fe 
expedition, and while a prisoner made his escape by leaping from the bal- 
cony of the Convent of Santiago ; he was a Captain in the Somervell 
campaign in 1842 ; in 1861 he went into the Confederate army as Lieutenant- 
Colonel of the Terry Rangers. At the death of Colonel Terry, he wms 
elected Colonel (>f the regiment; but he was then in feeble health, and dieu 
at Nashville, Tennessee, in January, 1862. 

Manchaca, Antonio. — A native of San Antonio, born in A. D. 1800; 
was Sergeant in Seguin's company, in the battle of San Jacinto ; in 1838 
sent to Nacogdoches to pacify Cordova, and other dissatisfied Mexicansua 
East Texas. Mr. Manchaca still (1878) lives in his native city. 



588 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Margil, Father. — A zealous Franciscan Missionai'y, who visited Texas 
from Mexico in 1718. " He found thousands of people scattered up and 
down the valley of the San Antonio river, for twelve or fifteen miles, and 
soon saw that it was a suitable position to establish churches." Through 
his influence the Government of New Spain undertook the grand enterprise 
of establishing " missions " in Texas. He died in the City of Mexico, in 
August, 1726. 

Martin, Wtlie. — "Was born in Georgia, in 1776. In early life he taught 
school, was clerk in a store and a soldier. In 1805, became connected with 
Aaron Burr; in 1812 a scout under General Harrison in the army of the 
Northwest; 1814, with Jackson at the battle of the Horse Shoe; was pro. 
moted for gallantry ; subsequently, fought a duel in which his antagonist was 
killed ; resigned his Captain's commission, and, in 1825, immigrated to 
Texas. He was soon appointed an Alcade in Austin's colony, and became 
acting political chief of the Department. At the breaking out of the 
Revolution, he opposed the Declaration of Independence, as premature; but 
I'aised a comjiany, and joined Houston's army at Columbus. Mai-tin"s 
company was sent to Fort Bend, to guard the crossing of the river; but had 
too few men to guard both ferries, and while the enemy engaged his 
company at the upper ferry, some of the Mexicans crossed at the lower 
crossing, where Richmond now stands. He was chagrined that so small a 
force had been sent to so important a place, and when he reached General 
Houston's headquarters, east of the Brazos, he gave up the command of his 
company, and was sent by the General to assist families in crossing the 
Trinity and escaping from the country. Captain Martin died in Fort Bend 
county, in 1842. He was at the time of his death a member of the Texas 
Congi'ess. 

Maverick, Samuel A. — Became a citizen of San Antonio in 1835; was a 
member of the Convention in 1836 ; after annexation served several terms 
in the Legislature ; and at the secession of the State, was appointed one of 
the Commissioners to receive the public property turned over by General 
Twiggs. Mr. Maverick was the owner of an immense stock of cattle, and 
his stockmen claimed all the unbranded yearlings in the rajige. From this 
circumstance, unbranded j'earlings are commonly called " Mavericks." He 
died in San Antonio, in 1870. 

M'CuLLoCH, Bex.tamin. — A native of Tennessee ; came to Texas to par- 
ticipate in the Revolutionary struggles; enlisted as a private, but was 
ordered to the command of one of the cannon in the battle of San Jacinto; 
in 1840, represented Gonzales county in Congress, and was most of the time 
on the frontier, as Captain of a ranging company. He was a Quartermaster 
during the Mexican War; in 1853, United States Marshal of Texas ; in 1855, 
sent by President Buchanan to settle a difficulty among the Mormons in 
Utah. At the breaking out of the Civil War, a few hundred men rallied to 
M'Culloch, to assist, if necessary, in capturing the Government stores in the 
neighborhood of San Antonio. He was appointed a Brigadier General iu 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 589 

the Confederate ranks, and ordered to Arkansas; fougnt bravely in the 
battle of Wilson's creek, where the Federal General Lyon was killed. 
General M'Culloch was killed in the second day's fight at Pea Ridge, 
Arkansas, March 24, 1862. His remains were brought to Austin for 
interment. 

M'Henry, John.— Was a pilot in Long's expedition to Goliad, in 1819, 
and with the other members of that unfortunate expedition, was sent a 
prisoner to Mexico. In 1837 he was Chief Justice of Victoria county, in 
which he died in 1878. Mrs. Long is still living. 

M'Farland, Thomas S.— Was aid to Major Bullock in the fight with 
Piedras, at Nacogdoches, in 1832. In 1833, he laid ofl[ the town of San 
Augustine ; in 1836, in the army under Rusk ; in 1842, in the Texas Con- 
gress ; afterward served several terms as Chief Justice of San Augustine 
county ; lives at Bleakwood. 

M'KiNNEY, Collin.— Was one of the earhest settlers in Bowie County; 
was in the Convention of 1836, and served several terms in the Texas 
Congress. Died in 1861, aged 85 years. 

M'KiNNEY, Thomas F.— A merchant formerly engaged in the St. Louis 
and Santa Fe trade. During the revolutionary period, he was an agent of 
the Provisional Government ; bought the first vessels for the Texas°navy; 
and the firm of M'Kinney & Williams transacted nearly all the financial 
business of the new government. The same firm built one of the first 
wharves on Galveston Island. After annexation, Mr. M'Kinney removed 
to Travis county, which he at one time represented in tlie Legislature. 
He died at home on Onion creek, in 1873. 

M'Leod, Hugh.— a graduate of West Point; became identified with 
Texas during the Revolution ; was aid to General Rusk, in his fight with 
the Kickapoos, in 1838, and in the fights with the Cherokees, in 1839. In 
1840, he was commander of the Santa Fe expedition. In 1844, settled in 
Galveston, and after annexation represented that city in the Legislature. 
In 1861, entered the Confederate army, as Colonel of the First°cgiment 
of Texas infantry, in the army of Virginia; died at Dumfries, Virginia, in 
1861. His remains were transferred to Austin for burial. 

Menifee, William. — Was one of a large company of Manifees, 
Heards, Whites, Devers, Sutherlands, etc., that immigrated from North 
Alabama to Texas in 1830. He was a member of the Convention in 1836 ; 
and of the First and Second Congresses ; the first Chief Justice of Colorado 
county, and one of the commissioners to locate the new capital. It was 
largely through his influence that Austin was chosen. lie first settled on 
the Navidad, in Jackson county ; removed thence to Egypt, on the Colorado, 
anrl. after annexation, to F.iy.'ito conntv ; anl represented that county in the 
Legislature in Iboo; died October 2«ih, 1875. 



590 ^ HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Mexia, JtJAN Antonio. — First appeared in Texas in 1832. He had been 
sent by Santa Anna in charge of a naval force for the capture of Matamoras. 
Having accomplished that, he received Stephen F. Austin, just returning 
from a session of the Legislature at Saltillo, on his ship, and ran up the 
<joast of Texas and entered the Brazos river. He, as well as Santa Anna, 
then professed to be ardent Ilcpublicans. He visited New Orleans in the 
fall of 1835, to fit out an expedition for the ca[)ture of Tampico. By the 
aid of William Christy, Captain Hawkins and others, a small schooner, the 
Mary Jane, was secured, and a promiscuous crowd of Americans, French 
iind Germans embarked upon her. These men understood that they wei e 
to sail for Texas, and a free passage was offered. Instead of entering a 
Texas port, the Mary Jane steered for Tampico, where they found a steamer 
ready to tow her into the harbor. Here the men were first informed that 
there was a Revolutionary General and his stall on board. Partly by force 
and partly by persuasion, the men took guns in their hands, though they 
had never gone through the manual of arms. A fort was occupied without 
opposition. The population did not rally to his standard, and when they 
were attacked by the Centralists, Mexia and most of his men seized a ves- 
sel and fled. Thirty-one, however, fell into the hands of the Centralists. 
Three of the prisoners died, and the others were condemned to be shot. 
Twenty-eight of these men, a few hours before their- execution, signed a 
declaration that they had been deceived as to the object of the expedition, 
mu\ abducted from their country. 

Mexia returned to Texas, and on the 6tli of December the Executive 
Council passed a resolution instructing William Pettus and Thomas F. Mc- 
liinney to aid him in getting up an expedition to operate against Santa 
Anna in the interior of Mexico. The capture of the city of San Antonio 
soon afterward, by the Texans, changed the whole aspect of public affairs, 
and Mexia's enterprise was abandoned. In 1839, Mexia was again at the 
head of the Revolutionary party in Tampico. There, he was for a time suc- 
cessful, and captured and shot his former Texas friend, General Piedras. 
After some advantages gained, he was joined by General Urrea, who still 
claimed to be a Republican. To meet the formidable army thus arrayed 
on the Revolutionary side, Bustamente left Santa Anna to manage the gov- 
ernment in Mexico, and took command in person of the Centralist troops. 
The two armies met near Puebla, at Acajeta. Bustamente gained a com- 
plete victory. Urrea made his escape, but Mexia was captured, and, ac- 
cording to Mexican precedents, soon afterward marched out and shot. 

Milam, Benjamin R. — The hero of San Antonio, was a genuine son " of the 
dark and bloody ground." He distinguished himself as a soldier in the war 
of 1812, and at its close became a trader and an adventurer among the In- 
dian tribes, on the Iiead waters of the Texas Rivers. AVe iioxt read of him 
at Galveston, in 1816; then on his way to Mexico to enlist in the ranks of 
the Republicans, who were trying to disengage themselves from the Spanish 
yoke. After having rendered valuable services in Mexico, in 1819, be vis- 
ited New Orleans, where, in conjunction with Trespelacios, he organized an 
expedition for the capture of Tampico. When Iturbide proclaimed himself 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 591 

Emperor, Milam joined the party opposed to these pretensions. He was 
taken by the Imperial troops and thrown into prison, where he langnished 
for a year, and was finally released by an nprisiuy among tlie people. For 
his servi-^ies in the Republican cause, he received, first, one league of land, 
which was afterward increased to eleven; but unfortunately he located too 
far east, and when the boundary line was run, Milam's invaluable tract of 
land was in Miller county, Arkansas. He was interested in the colonial 
contracts with General A. G. AVabell, an Englishman, in planting a colony 
on Red River. At his invitation, a good many families came in, and be- 
came permanent settlers. This was in 1828. He was then an inmate of the 
family of Judge Ellis, though he had opened a rauche of his own, on land 
which proved not to be in Texas. He subsequently obtained an empresario 
contract for settling the country at the head of the San Marcos River. Dr. 
Beale was probably interested in this, as it is marked in some of the old 
maps as Bcale's grant. It was sold to the house of Baring Brothers, 
London. Nothing was done toward introducing colonists. Milam was in 
the fight at Nacogdoches, in 1832. In 1835 he was at Saltillo, and pro- 
cured from the Legislature the exclusive right to navigate the Colorado 
River. While there, the despotic plans of'Santa Anna began to be unfolded. 
These were denounced in unmeasured terms by the stern and incorruptible 
Milam. The result was, Milam was again arrested and thrown into prison 
at Monterey. He soon won the confidence of the jailer, by whose conniv- 
ance, and the assistance of an outside friend, who furnished a fleet horse, 
he made his escape and fled toward Texas. He reached Texas at a most 
opportune moment. It was just after the skirmish about the cannon at 
Gonzales. Captain Colliusworth had raised a company for the capture of 
Goliad. Milam was stealthily making his way eastward, when he fell in 
with CoUinsworth's men. He at first supposed they were Mexican soldiers, 
and prepared to sell his lif& as dearly as possible, preferring death to 
another imprisonment. Listening closely, he thought he heard his own 
language spoken, and to his inexpressible ^'oy soon discovered that he was 
-among friends. Nothing could have afforded Milam more pleasure than to 
become one of the storming party that captured Goliad. 

"We have but meager accounts of this most distinguished patriot. He 
once remarked to Judge Burnet that he had been in almost every prison be- 
tween the Rio Grande and the city of Mexico. He was now in Texas, and 
Texas was struggling to resist the usurpation of Santa Anna. After the 
•capture of Goliad, Milam went to the Texas army, then preparing for the 
capture of San Antonio. The prospect was disheartening. Tlie city was 
well fortified; with a garrison of veteran troops, numbering largely more 
than the Texans could nuister. A council of war in the Texas camp haii 
decided that the attempt to carry the place by storm would be too hazard- 
ous. At this juncture, when the army appeared undecided, and was in dan- 
ger of disbanding through dissensions, by the advice of Burleson, ^lilam 
stepped out in front of the headquarters, and announced that Old Ben Mi- 
lam was going into San Antonio, and wanted volunteers to go with hiin- 
With a shout, the men rallied to the standard of the brave old soldier. In 
■the hour of victory, when recounoitering with his glass for the final assault. 



592 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

he was pierced with a rifle-ball, which instantly killed him. He was tem- 
porarily buried in the yard of the Verameiidi House, where he fell. His 
remains were subsequently transferred to the Protestant burying ground in. 

the city. 

Millard, Henry — Was a member of the Consultation, from Liberty. At 
the organization of the army, he was appointed a captain, and commanded 
tlie Regulars in the battle of San Jacinto. He was subsequently connected 
with the attempt to arrest President Burnet. He died in 1842. 

Miller, Dr. James B. — A native of Kentucky; came to Texas in 1829; 
first engaged in the practice of his profession with Dr. Peebles; subse- 
quently became a partner of Alexander Somervell in a store in San Felipe ; 
was a member of the Convention at San Felipe, in 1833, and of the Legis- 
lature at Saltillo, in 1834. While in the Legislature, the Department of the 
Bi-azos was created, and Dr. Miller was appointed Political Chief. With 
many others, he thought the declaration of Texas independence was pre- 
mature, but when the measure was adopted he went heartily into it. In 
1837, he was Secretary of the Treasury; in 1843, Chief Justice of Fort Bend 
county. In 1847, and again in 1849, he received a handsome vote fbr Gov- 
ernor; in 1851, he was appointed one of the commissioners to investigate 
fraudulent land titles west of the Nueces River. He died in 1854. 

MiNA, Xaviee — A Spanish soldier of fortune, who, having been impris- 
oned, made his escape to England, where he collected about 200 followers 
and sailed for America. His first intention was to co-operate with Toledo 
in the conquest of Florida. FaiUngin this, he landed at Galveston, Novem- 
ber 24th, 1816. In March following, he, in conjunction with Aury and 
Perry, planned an expedition for the capture of Soto la Marina, on the 
Santander river, in Mexico. The place was taken without a fight. The 
commanders then difiered on questions of rank, and separated. Aury sailed 
for the Texas coast with all the vessels. Perry started for Texas by land ; and 
Mina, enlisting a few followers, determined to remain and operate against 
the Royalists in Mexico. His first fight was at Valle de Mais, where, with 
300 men, he totally defeated 400 Spanish cavalry. This was on the 8th of 
June. June 14th, he gained another victory at Peotillas; on the 18th, cap- 
tured Real de Rinas with its gari'ison of 300 men, and afterwards the cele- 
brated hacienda of the Marquis of Jaral, from whom he extorted $300,000. 
In the meantime, Arredondo had re-occupied Soto la Marina, and was- 
concentrating all his available forces for the capture of Mina. The native 
liepublicans distrusted Mina because he was aGachupin, and did not rally 
in force to his standard. Witli diminished numbers, he bravely encountered 
the veteran Arredondo at Venadita, September 27th. He was defeated and 
captured. By order of the Viceroy, Apodaca, he was shot at Remedios, 
November 11th, 1817. 

MoouE, Commodore E. W. — Was a Lieutenant on the U. S. sloop Boston; 
resigned his commission and was api^ointed a Post Captain in the navy of 




HOUSTON PIERCED WITH AX ARROW. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 595 

Texas. During Houston's second administration, a serious misunderstand- 
ing arose between Commodore Moore and tlie President. A court martial 
was convened, consisting of S. Slierman, E. Moorehouse, A. Somervell, 
James Riley and Tliomas Sypert, with Thomas Jolmson, Judge Advocate. 
Moore was acquitted. By the terms of annexation he ought to have been 
transferred to the United States navy again. But his present raulv would 
have placed him over men who were his superiors in the old navy at the 
time he resigned. This, and other unsettled points, prevented his reception 
in the navy. In 1857, he had an appointment in connection with thecus- 
tom-liouse in Galveston. He died in Virginia, in 1860. 

Moore, Dr. Francis, Jr. — Was a native of New York ; but came from 
Ohio to Texas in 1836, with the Buckeye Rangers. Arriving at Velasco, he 
was tendered the position of surgeon in the army. In the spring of 1837, 
he became one of the proprietors of the Texas Telegraph, and for twenty 
years he was its editor-in-chief. During that period it was the leading 
newspaper in the Republic, and its files are to-day invaluable to the histo- 
rian. Dr. Moore was several times elected Mayor of Houston. In 1841-43 
he represented Harris county in the Senate, and was a member of the 
Annexation Convention in 1845. In 1860 he was appointed State Geolo- 
gist, but was removed in a short time. He then went north and entered 
the service of a copper-mining company, and was sent to Lake Superior. 
In 1864, he died from injuries received from a fall. A few weeks later, his 
life-long iriend and business partner in the Telegraph office, Mr. Creeger, 
followed him to the spirit laud. 

Moore, John H.— One of the earliest settlers upon the Upper Colorado. 
He was a bold and successful Indian-fighter. In 1834 he led an expedition 
against the Tehuacanies and Wacoes on the Upper Brazos. For twenty-one 
days he followed their trail. In one fight eleven Indians were killed. 
Moore Avas one of the earliest and most zealous advocates for Texan inde- 
pendence ; and for this his arrest was ordered by General Cos, iu 1835. 
When the volunteers assembled at Gonzales, to hold forcible possession of 
the cannon, Moore was elected to command them. In 1840, he was in com- 
mand of an expedition against the Indians on the headwaters of the Colo- 
rado. A large village of the Comanches was completely surprised and 
destroved. A large number of warriors were killed, and some prisoners 
taken. Col. Moore was the original proprietor of the town of Lagrange. 
He still (1878) lives on his plantation, which has been his home for more 
than a half a century. 

Morgan, James.— Came to Texas about 1828; in 1830 he was a merchant 
at Anahuac, and in 1836 at New Washington, or Morgan's Point. His 
store-house was plundered and burned by Santa Anna, just before the battle 
of San Jacinto. Colonel Morgan was then in command of Galveston island, 
and rendered President Burnet efficient service. He filled various public 
trusts with honor and fidelity, lie was blind during the last years of his 
hfe. 

33 



596 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

MuRBAH, Pendleton. — Was a native of South Carolina, a lawyer by 
profession. He went in early life to Alabama, and came from that State to 
Texas, and setttled in Harrison county. In 1857 he represented that county 
in the Legislature ; and was elected Governor in 1863. At the dissolution 
of the Confederate armies, in June, 1865, Governor Murrah left the capital 
and sought a refuge in Mexico. He died in Monterey, the following July. 

Navarro, Jose Antonio. — Was born in the city of San Antonio, in 1795. 
His father was from Corsica. Mr. Navarro was, in 1834-35, land commis- 
sioner for Bexar district and Dewitt's colony; a member of the Convention 
in 1836, and again in 1845; in 1838, in Congress; in 1840, commissioner to 
Santa Fe. Santa Anna, for some cause, cherished a special hatred towards 
Colonel Navarro, and he was thrown into the castle of San Juan d'UUoa 
and kept in solitary and dreary confinement, until Herrera became Pres- 
ident, when he was libei'ated and permitted to return to his home in Texas. 
After annexation, he represented Bexar district in the State Senate. He 
died in his natiye city in 1870. He was a staunch Republican; a man of 
gi'eat simplicity of nia'nners, united with a Spanish dignity ; pure in morals, 
upright in all his dealings, and an incorruptible patriot. 

Neighbors, R. S. — Came from Virginia to Texas in 1837, and entered the 
army. In 1849, in company with Colonel Ford, he surveyed a route from 
San Antonio to El Paso, and was then sent by Governor Bell to organize the 
county of Santa Fe. He found Santa Fe in possession of the United States, 
and returned to Texas, and was a member of the Legislature in 1851 ; in 
1855 he %vas U. S. Indian Agent, and collected the Indians on the reserves. 
He was killed at Fort Belknap, August 14th, 1859. 

Neil, John C. — Commanded the artillery at the taking of San Antonio 
in 1836, and also in the battle of San Jacinto, in which he was slightly 
wounded. In 1842, he led an expedition against the Indians on the Upper 
Trinity, and in 1844 was one of the Commissioners sent to treat with the 
Indians. Died soon after his return, at his home on Spring creek. 

Newell, John D. — Came from North Carolina to Texas in 1830; was a 
member of the Convention in 1833. He was a successful planter, having 
lived to raise forty-five cotton crops in Texas. He died in Richmond, in 
December, 1875. 

Odin, Rev. J. M. — Was sent to Texas by Bishop Timon, of Missouri, in 
1840; March 6th, 1842, was consecrated Bishop of Claudiopolis, and Vicar 
Apostolic of Texas; in 1847, Bishop of Galveston, wliich then included the 
whole State; in 1861, he was transferred to New Orleans, and soon after- 
wards created Archbishop. He died in his native village in France, 
iu 1870, 

Ochiltree, William B. — Came from North Carolina to Texas in 1839 ; 
in 1844, was Secretary of the Treasury ; iu 1845, in the Annexation Gonven- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 597 

tiou, after which, for a number Oi years, he was District Judge. Bo was a 
member of the Secession Convention in 186 1, and sent as a delegate to the 
Convention at Montgomery, Alabama; died in Jefferson, Texas, December 

27, 1867. 

Oldham, "William S.— Was in the Confiederate Senate, from Texas, during 
the war; died in Houston in 1868. 

OwEX, Clark L.— Was trom Kentucky. In 1840, he was with John H. 
Moore in his expedition against the Indians; was a Captain in the Plum 
creek fight with the Comanches. He dechned a position in Houston's Ca*b- 
ii>et, but was appointed to the command of the troops in the Southwest. 
Such was Houston's unbounded confidence in Colonel Owen, that he 
authorized him, at his discretion, to proclaim martial law at Corpus Christi, 
for the more effectual suppression of thieving and robbing; but he succeeded 
in resioiiiig order without resorting to that extreme measure. He was an 
original Union man, but after the secession of the State, Captain Owen 
raised a company for the Second Texas Infantry, and was killed at the 
battle of Shiloh. 

Padilla, JUAN Antonio.— Was for a short time Land Commissioner in 
East Texas, in 1829. The next year, in conjunction with Judge Chambers, 
he obtained an Empresario contract; in 1834-36 he was Secretary of State 
of Coahuila, Texas ; was elected to represent Victoria county in the Con- 
vention of 1836, but, owing to the unsettled state of the West, did not 
attend. He paid a visit to the city of Houston in 1839, and died while at 
that place. 

Parker, Isaac— A venerable member of a historic family ; has repre- 
sented his district, both in the Congress of the Republic and in the State 
Legislature. He lives, at the advanced age of 86, near Weatherford in the 
county that beai's his name. 

Parmer, Martin.— Whose name is to the Taxas Declaration of Independ- 
ence, was a native of Virginia; moved in early life to Missouri ; was Indian 
Agent ; served in the Convention that formed the Constitution of that State 
and also in the Legislature; settled at MouTid Prairie, Texas, about the 
year 1825 ; was one of the leaders in-the Fredonian emeute, in 1826-7 ; and 
died soon after the Revolution. 

Patrick, George M.— Came to Texas, by sea, in 1827. Thomas Jamison, 
late of Matagorda, and John IT. Moore were on the same vessel returning 
to the country, having been absent on a visit. Mr. Patrick knew something 
of the management of a ship, and when a storm arose and drove their vessel 
to sea, after reaching the coast, the Captain being drunk— he took the 
control and brought the vessel into Galveston. In 1832, Mr. P., was 
Regidor (Recorder) at Anahuac; in 1835, he was in the General Consulta- 
tion; in 1836, with President Burnet, first at Morgan's Point, tlicn at 



598 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Galveston, where, for a time he had command of the schooner Flash. In 
1837, he was Surveyor of Harris county ; subsequently, for many yekrs, he 
was Cliief Justice of Grimes county, in which he still lives (1878) . 

Pease, Elisha M. — A native of Connecticut; born in 1812 and a lawyer 
by profession. He came to Texas in 1835, and was appointed Secretary of 
the Executive Council at San Felipe; in 1836 he was Clerk, first in the 
2s uvy, then in the Treasury Department, under the Provisional Government. 
In 1S37 he was Comptroller of Public Accounts. He held this office but a 
short time. When he resigned it, he entered upon the practice of his profes- 
sion in Brazoria county. He was a member of the House of Representa- 
tives of the First and Second Legislatures, and Chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee. He was trasferred to the Senate of the Third Legislature. He 
was elected Governor in 1853 and re-elected in 1855. This was a period of 
unparalleled prosperity. At the close of his official term he took up his 
residence in Austin. On the removal of Governor Throckmorton, in 1867, 
Pease was appointed Governor by General Sheridan. This office he resigned 
the next year. In 1874, without his knowledge, he was appointed Collector 
of Customs for Galveston, an office he declined to accept. Was reappoined 
Collector at Galveston in 1879, and took charge of the Custom House Feb.l. 

Peebles, Dr. E. P. — Came from South Carolina to Texas in 1829, and 
was appointed Land Commissioner for Austin fhid Williams' colony. In 
1851 he represented Austin county in the Legislature; lives in Waller 
county. 

Perky, Henry. — Was the commander of the Americans in the battle of 
Alasan, near San Antonio, in 1813. He is also generally reported as having 
been in the battle of Medina, a few week later ; though another account 
states that Perry, having been warned by a Mexican girl that Musquis and 
other Mexicans, in the Republican ranks, had made arrangements to 
desert to the Royalists, left the city before that disastrous battle. In 1815, 
he was in Louisiana attempting to get up a filibustering expedition to 
Texas, but was thwarted by the vigilance of the United States Marshals. In 
1816 he joined Commodore Aury at Galveston, and accompanied Aury and 
Mina to Soto la Marina. After the departure of Aury with the ships. 
Perry thought their foi-ce too weak to maintain themselves in the heart of 
Mexico, and he, with fifty-one followers, started for Texas. The party 
reached Goliad in safety, and might have passed on to the interior of the 
country, but they summoned the small garrison in the old fort to surrender. 
While parleying before the walls, a body of two hundred cavalry sent by 
iirredondo for the capture of Perry arrived. A desperate fight ensued* 
The Spanish account of the battle is, that after all Perry's men were slain 
in battle, the brave commander, rather than sun-ender, killed himself. This 
is possible, but it has been conjectured that a part, at least, of Perry's men 
surrendered, and shared the fate of the unfortunate Fannin and hia com- 
mand at the same place, twenty-five years later. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 599 

Perry, James F. — A brother-in-law of Stephen F. Austin (having mar- 
ried Mrs. Bryan, Mr. Austin's sister, in Missouri) ; came to Texas in 1831, 
and settled in Brazoria county, at Peach Point. From this time forward 
this was General Austin's home. Mr. Perry died in 1852 ; his wife havino- 
died the previous year 

PiLLSBURT, Timothy. — Came to Texas from Maine. In 1840, he repre- 
sented Brazoria county in the Texas Congress ; and was soon afterwai-d 
elected Chief Justice of the county. He was the first to represent West 
Texas in the Congress of the United States, after annexation. At the end of 
his second term, he retired to private life. He died near Henderson, 
in 1858. 

Potter, Egbert— Was Secretary of the Navy during the government ad 
interim, and subsequently represented the Red River District in the Texas 
Congress. He was killed at his home, near Lake Soda, in 1840. 

Powers, James— An Irishman, by birth; m 1828, engaged with Dr. Hew- 
itson in a colonization contract ; was a member of the Convention of 1836 ; 
was captured by raiders at his home, at Live Oak Point, but was immedi- 
ately released by order of Santa Anna. 

Putnam, Mitchell— A p/ivate in Captain Hurd's company, at San Ja- 
cinto. In 1838, he settled near Gonzales, and the same year the Comanches 
carried ofi" four of his children. In March, 1840, when the Comanches came 
into San Antonio to make a treaty, they brought in one of Mr. Mitchell's 
children. After the fight in the Council House, another was surrendered. 
One died soon afler being carried ofi". An interesting little girl was still 
missing, and for twenty-six years her father and family were ignorant of 
her fate. In 1865, Judge John Chenault, who had been an Indian Agent in 
Missouri, immigrated to Texas and settled in Gonzales. There was a woman, 
an inmate of Judge C.'s family, then thirty j^ears old, whom he had ran- 
somed when a little girl from the savages. The child was too young when 
carried off to remember anything of her parentage, or even her name. 
Something in her appearance induced Mr. Putnam to suspect this was his 
long-lost daughter. There was on her person a peculiar flesh-mark, well 
remembered by her parents. This indelible mark estabhshed her identity. 
Though much attached to her foster-father, she was greatly delighted to find 
her real father and to dwell with her kinsmen. 

Rains, Emory — A native of Tennessee; settled in Texas, in 1816, in La- 
mar county; in 1836, represented Shelby county in the Texas Congress ; 
filled many oflSccs of trust, and died at a good old age, in the county that 
bears his name, in 1878. 

Reagan, John H.— Came to Texas in 1840 from Tennessee, and engaged 
in surveying; in 1846, he was Probate Judge in Anderson county; 1847, in 
the Legislature ; from 1852 to 1857 he filled the oflice of District Judge. 



600 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

During the latter year he was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1859. * 
At the breaking out of the civil war he resigned his seat in Congress, and 
at the organization ot the Confederate government, was invited into Presi- 
dent Davis' Cabinet as Postmaster-General. At the fall of Richmond, Mr. 
Reagan left the cityin company with President Davis, and they were still 
in company when they were captured by the Federal soldiers. While Mr. 
Davis was sent to Fortress Monroe, Mr. Reagan was sent to Fort "Warren, 
Boston harbor. On being released, he returned to his old home in Pales- 
tine, and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1873, his political dis- 
abilities were removed, and the next year he was elected to Congress, and 
also to the Constitutional Convention of the State. He was re-elected to 
Congress. in 1876, and also in 1878. 

Riley, James — Represented Harris county in Congress in 1840, and wag- 
soon afterward sent as Minister to the United States ; in 1846, he commanded 
a Texas I'egiment in the ^lexican.war ; in 1856, was United States Minister to- 
St. Petersburg, Russia; iu 1861-2, a colonel in the Arizona Brigade, but 
most of the time in Mexico on diplomatic service. Returning from that ex- 
pedition, he was assigned to duty in Louisiana, and killed in the battle of 
Franklin, April 13, 1863. Mrs. Riley died in Jeflerson, Texas, iu January,. 
1877. 

Roberts, Oran M. — Is a native of South Carolina ; born in 1815. He^ 
was educated at» the University of Alabama; studied law, and entered 
upon the practice of his profession in 1838. After serving one term in the 
Legislature of Alabama, he immigrated to Texas in 1841, located at Sail 
Augustine, and cemmenced the practice of his profession. He was District 
Attorney in 1844; the next year District Judge. After annexation, he re- 
sumed the practice of his profession and continued it until 1857, when he 
was elected one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court. He was 
a member of the Secession Convention in 1861, and was the President of 
that body. In 1862, he raised a regiment for service in the Confederate 
army, and was assigned to duty in the division of General Walker. While 
in the army, he was elected Chief Justice of the State. He was in the first 
Reconstruction Convention, in 1866, and was chairman of the Committee on 
the Judiciaiy. The ensuing Legislature elected him and the late Judge 
Burnet to the United States Senate ; but they were not permitted to take 
their seats, as Congress set aside the reconstruction administration of Presi- 
dent Johnson. He resumed the practice of his jjrofession, and, in conjunc- 
tion, taught, in 1868, a law school in Gilmer. In 1874, when the Supi'cme 
Court was re-organized under Governor Coke, Justice Roberts was returned 
to his place as Chief Justice of the Si;i,i>, and under the new Constitution! 
was re-elected iu 1876. Inaugurated Governor January 21, 1879. 

Roberts, S-^muel A. — A native of Georgia, educated at West Point; 
resigned his commission and studied law at Mobile, Alabama. In 1838, he 
came to Texas, and was soon afterwards sent as Minister to the United 
States; iu 1840 he was Secreury of State in Lamar's cabinet. After annex- 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 601 

ation he settled in Bonham, and engaged in the practice of his profession. 
Daring the civil war he had a military commission under the Confederate 
Government. He died in Bonham, in 1872. 

KOBERTSON, Jerome B. — Jerome B. Robertson is by birth a Kentuckian. 
Before he attained his majority, the attention of the people of the United 
States was tixed upon the struggle then existing between the Texas colo- 
nists and the mihtary despotism then ruling Mexico. The colonists wern 
weak in numbers and resources, while their enemies were strong and vin- 
dictive. The colonists were widely scattered over a new country, strug- 
gling to maintain constitutional and religious liberty against absolute 
despotism and the exertions of the centralists. Hence, the fluctua- 
tions of tlfat struggle excited the public mind of the United States far more 
than this generation can understand. The subject of this sketch has always 
been prompt to coin his convictions into deeds, and from his early youth 
was characterized by fine social qualities, and an acfjve zeal in promoting 
public enterprises. These qualities, joined to an ardent love of liberty, 
and a sympathy for the weak, which could not be restrained, stimulated 
young Robertson to actively espouse the cause of Texas ; and in the begin- 
ning of the year 1836, he openly declared his intention to embark in the 
cause of Texan independence. With eighty-six other brave men, he formed 
a company at Owensboro, Daviess county, Kentucky, who promptly mani- 
fested their appreciation of his capacity by electing him their Captain upon 
their arrival in Texas. The trip down the river to New Orleans was a 
continuous ovation, but the real hardships of the new life began at that 
point. A delay of several weeks was here met by the failure of the agents 
of Texas to procure transportation ; and an unusually long voyage of nine- 
teen days across the Gulf, from the mouth of the Mississippi to Velasco, 
Texas, followed by weary marches and the tedious though necessary res- 
traints of camp life, were alone sufficient to severely test the soldierly quali- 
ties of the men. Texas was without money to pay her defenders, and with- 
out stores with which to feed and clothe them ; yet did not her soldiers 
falter, but pushed onward until victory crowned their noble efforts. 

With the cessation of hostilities and the achievment of independence, the 
restoration of social order demanded the best efforts of Texans. The work 
was begun and carried out with ai\ energy and breadth of wisdom which 
has not been improved upon in later days. The provisions made by Texas 
for public education, were among the first acts of the young Republic, and 
were munificent, and then far in advance of the times. Upon his discharge ■ 
from the army. Captain Robertson settled in the town of Washington, 
Washington county, at the close of the year 1837, and commenced the prac- 
tice of medicine, which he had studied in Kentucky; and continued the 
practice of that profession, when not in public service, until 1874. During 
that period, he filled many minor civil offices, and participated in most of 
the campaigns against the Mexicans and Indians during the existence of 
the Republic, including the Somervell campaign of 1843. He was a mem- 
ber of the Lower House of the State Legislature in 1847-49, and served 
two terms in the State Senate. He was a member of the Secession Couven- 



602 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

tiou in 1861. His previous services for Texas did not prompt him to remain 
in peaceful ease when Texas bade her sons to go forth to battle again, but 
he promptly volunteered, and was elected Captain of a company formed at 
Independence. The company was ordered to Richmond, Virginia, in the 
fall of 1861, and became a part of the Fifth Texas regiment, of which 
Captain Robertson was made Lieutenant-Colonel. After the battle of 
Seven Pines, he was promoted to the Colonelcy, and with his regiment 
participated in the glories and hardships of the Army of Northern Virginia. 
Upon the promotion of General J. B. Hood to the rank of Major-General, 
Colonel Robertson was advanced to the position of Brigadier-General, and 
commanded Hood's old brigade. 

After the close of the war came the trying process of Reconstruction. 
General Robertson had endured too much for Texas, to despair of better 
times, even in that dark hour ; and his age, character, and public sei'vices, 
gave him great power to influence the more intemperate spirits in his dis. 
tracted State. He counselled, always, forbearance and peaceful methods, 
but never ceased to labor and to hope for Texas. He was made Superin- 
tendent of the State Bureau of Immigration, in 1874, and his able and 
energetic administration of that important office received the universal 
commendation of the press and people. He is now laboring to advance 
the railroad interests of Western Texas, as the means of developing the 
vast wealth of that hitherto comparatively unknown section of the Empire 
State of Texas. 

From any cause he thought good, he never withheld his voice, his purse, 
or his hand. He never took counsel of selfishness, nor sought an unworthy 
end. 

Robertson, Sterling C. — An Empresario, who, next to Austin, intro- 
duced the largest number of families into Texas. He visited the country 
as early as 1823. Mr. Letlwich, after securing a contract and introducing 
a few families, went back to Tennessee and died, and his contract fell into 
the possession of the Nashville Company, of which Mr. Robertson was an 
active manager. In 1830, Mr. Robertson, in conjunction with Mr. Alexan- 
der Thompson, introduced a number of families, about the time of Busta- 
mente's decree interdicting all immigration from the United States. The 
immigrants, finding obstacles in the way of settling the Robertson colonj', 
stopped, for a time, in the colony of Austin. The Mexicans appear to 
have had a special spite at Mr. Robertson ; and a decree of the Legislature 
annulled the contract, and banished him from the province. At the same 
time, a contract for settling the same territory was given to Austin and 
Williams. Robertson visited Saltillo, and on his representation of his 
preparations to introduce colonists, his contract was renewed in Decree 
No. 285, issued April 29th, 1834. The fickle Legislature, on the 18th of 
May, 1835, in Decree No. 317, declared that the former decree in favor of 
Sterling C. Robertson, foreigner, was null and void, and the Governor 
was directed to return the contract to Austin and Williams. As the I'evo- 
lution was then in progress, this last decree did not seriously injure the 
Robertson colony. Mr. Robertson was a member of the Convention in 




MONUMENT ERECTED 



THE HEROES OF THE ALAMO, 

AND NOW STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE STATE HOUSE AT AUSTIN, TEXAS. 



iNSCRiPTfOx ON THE Shaft-North Front.— To thft God Of the fearless and free is (iedi- 
caied this altar made from the ruins of the Alamo. March Gth, 1836, A. D. 

iNscRirrroN o.v the West Front. - Blood of Heroes hath stained me; let the stones of 
the Alamo speak that their immolation be not forgotten. March liih lS.StJ, A. 1). 

iNSCRirriON ON the South Front.— Ba they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the 
mighty dead. March 6th, 1836 A. D. 



Inscription on the East Front.— Thermopylie had her messenger of defeat, but the 
Alamo had none. March Gth, 1836, A. D. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 605 

1836, aud raised a company for service in the San Jacinto campaign. He 
died in the county which bears his name, March 4th, 1842. 

Robinson, James W. — A native of Ohio, and a lawyer by profession. 
He was a member of the Consultation in 1835, from Nacogdoches. At the 
organization of the Provisional Government, he was elected Lieutenant- 
Governor, and when the Executive Council deposed Governor Smith, he 
became Governor ; but Smith never surrendered the insignia of his ojfficc. 
(That insignia was a brass button on his coat, which happened to be a 
star, and for want of a seal, was used to make the impression upon public 
documents dispatched to the United States. That brass button gave birth 
to the single star, the emblem of the new Republic) . Mr. Robinson fought 
as a private at the battle of San Jacinto. At the organization of a Consti- 
tutional Government, he was appointed District Judge. He resigned his 
ofBce rather than to preside at the trial of a personal friend, charged with 
a capital offence. He was in San Antonio in September, 1842, when so 
many of the members of the court were taken prisoners by Woll. From 
his prison in Mexico he addressed a letter to Santa Anna, who had been 
restored to power. In that letter he suggested a basis for an agreement 
between Texas and Mexico. Robinson probably did this to secure his 
liberty. Santa Anna released him, and sent him with letters to Mr. Hous- 
ton. The negotiation thus begun, finally resuHted in the establishment of 
an armistice between the two countries. In 1849, Judge Robinson removed 
with his family to California. Not liking the country, he started back to 
Texas, and died at San Diego, in 1853. 

A number of anecdotes are current among the legal fratei'uity, of which 
Robinson was the occasion. It is told that on one occasion, when holding 
court in Houston, a man had been convicted of a crime for which the pen- 
alty was thirty-nine lashes. A motion was duly made and entered for a 
new trial, which the Judge promised to attend to the next morning. In 
the meantime, he directed the sherifi to whip the culprit and turn him 
loose. At the opening of the court in the morning, the Judge listened very 
patiently to the arguments for a new trial. The attorney, seeing an unac- 
countable merriment in the court-i'oom, inquired the cause ; when the 
Judge, in the blandest possible manner, informed the gentleman that his 
client had already received his punishment and been discharged. On 
another occasion, he perpetrated a grim joke at the expense of a still 
greater criminal. He was holding court in a town on the western frontier. 
A man had been clearly convicted of a willful murder. The Judge i)ro- 
pronounced the death penalty, the sentence to be carried into execution 
the next day. But he then remarked to the sheriff that the jail was very 
uncomfortable and he had better execute him that night; Tlie truth was, 
the criminal had a large number of friends, and the Judge knew full well 
that he would be rescued during the night. 

Robinson, John C. — Came with his family to Texas in 1831 — landing at 
the mouth of the Brazos. At New Orleans he hud his negroes passed 
through the custom-house, so that if he found it necessary he could return 



606 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

with them to tlie United States. They were also indentured as PeonSy 
according to the Mexican laws. ;Mr. Ilobinson was in the battle ofVelasco, 
in 1832; in 1833, settled on his headright league on the west side of Cum- 
mings creek, in Fayette county; was a member of the first session of the 
first Congress. It was m;ule the duty of the members of Congress to 
administer the oath of office to the newly-appointed Magistrates. On 
the 2Gth of November, 1836, he and his brother rode over to the house of 
Mr. Stevens, on Clear creek, to administer the oath of ofiice to ]\lr. Stevens. 
As the two brothers were returning, they were met by a party of Indians 
and both killed. Later in the day, the same Indians killed the Gotier family, 
still higher upon the headwaters of Rabb's creek. 

KoBiNSON, Joel "W. — Son of the above; was in the Velasco fight in 1832^ 
and also in the battle of San Jacinto. It was Mr. Robinson's good fortune 
to be with the party that captured Santa Anna, and the fallen chief I'ode 
into the Texan camp behind Robinson, both on one horse. The prisoner, 
of whose identity they were then ignorant, complained that his feet were 
sore, and he was thus permitted to ride. Joel Robinson has frequently 
represented his county in the State Legislature, and was a member of the 
Constitutional Convention in 1875. He lives on his father's headright 
league ; the one he first settled and the one upon which he was killed. 

Roman, Richard. — A native of Kentucky ; a soldier in the Black-Hawk 
war in 1832, and a Captain in the battle of San Jacinto ; in 1839, represented 
Victoria county in Congress of the Republic ; in 1849, emigrated to Califor- 
nia and served two terms as Treasurer of the State. He was subsequently 
appointed Aiipraiser of Merchandise in San Francisco. He died in that 
city in 1876. He was blind during the last years of his life. 

P.oss, — .A native of Virginia; was a Captain in the expedition of 

Magee in 1812, and Goliad in 1813. After the death of Magec, when Kem- 
per was elected commander, Ross was selected as Major. After the cruel 
murder of the Spanish ofiiccrs at San Antonio, he abandoned the enterprise 
and returned to his native State. After the triumph of the Republican 
cause in Mexico, he visited that country in hopes of receiving some remu- 
neration lor his services. While traveling toward the city of Mexico, he 
was murdered by robbers. 

Ross, Reuben. — An Aid to Felix Huston in 1837 ; was with Jordan in 
the Army of the Republic of»the Rio Grande, in 1839; returned to Texas 
and was killed in a personal rencontre at Gonzales, at a Christmas party 
in 1839. 

RoYALL, R. R. — One of the first settlers at Matagorda ; repx'esented that 
precinct in the Convention of 1833 ; was chairman of the Central Committee 
which, at San Felipe, exercised a general supervision of public affairs 
before the meeting of the Consultation in 1835. He was also a member of 
that Consultation. He died in Matagorda, in 1840. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 607 

EuNNELS, Hiram G.— Ex-Governor of Mississippi; came to Texas in 
1840, and opened a plantation on the Brazos river; was a member of tlie 
Annexation Convention in 1845 ; died in 1857. 

Runnels, Hardin R.— Came from Mississippi to Texas in 1841, and 
opened a cotton plantation on Red river; represented Bowie county eight 
years in the Legislature; was Speaker of the House in 1853-55; in 1855 
was elected Governor; died at his home in Bowie county in 1873, 

Rusk, Thomas Jefferson.— The soldier, jurist, and statesman, was of 
Irish descent, and born in Pendleton district, South Carolina, December 
5th, 1803. While yet a boy, bright and precocious, young Rusk attracted 
the favorable notice of the celebrated John C. Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun 
greatly assisted him in securing an education, and also in acquiring his pro- 
fession. Soon after procuring his license as a lawyer, young Rusk removed 
to the State of Georgia, where he soon obtained a lucrative practice. In 
an unfortunate mining speculation, lie lost nearly all his earnings. Dishon- 
est agents seized the funds and fled to the West. Rusk followed some of 
them to Texas, but failed to recover his lost money. This was in 1834. He 
was so delighted with the country that he determined to make Texas his 
future home, and located at Nacogdoches, He at once took an active part 
in public affairs, and the same year, as secretary of a vigilance committee, 
wrote an earnest protest againt the further introduction of Indians from 
the United States, -In 1836 the Executive Council elected him Commissary 
of the Army. He was in the Convention of 1836, and his name is signed to 
the Declaration of Texan Independence. At the organization of the gov- 
ernment ad interim, he entered Burnet's Cabinet as Secretary of War. By 
the direction of the Bresident, he joined the army on the Brazos river, and 
was the confidential friend and adviser of Houston. Arriving at Harris- 
burg, he made a most patriotic address to the men, assuring them that they 
would soon have an opportunity to avenge the butcheries of San Antonio 
and Goliad. He performed a most gallant part in the ever-memorable 
battle of the 21st of April. It was to him that Colonel Almonte surrender- 
ed. After all resistance had ceased. Rusk exerted himself to arrest the 
killing of the fugitives. When General Houston resigned, to go to New 
Orieans for surgical aid. Rusk was appointed Commander-in-Chief; and 
followed the retreating army of Filisola as far west as Goliad, where he had 
the remains of the men massacred with Fannin carefully collected and hon- 
orably interred. 

In tiie fail of 1836, at the organization of the Constitutional govermnent, . 
Rusk was appointed Secretary of War; but he soon resigned to attend to 
his private business, which had been very much neglected during the stir- 
ring revolutionary times. The people would not permit him long to remain 
in private life, and in 1837 he was sent to the Texas Congress. A band of 
Kickapoos having become very troublesome, he collected a company of hi* 
neighbors and severely chastised thcni. Rusk was always ready to draw 
his sword to repel invasion, or to protect the frontier from the sava<res. lu 
1839 he commanded a regiment in the war with the Cherokees. He was 



608 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the same year appointed Chief Justice of the Republic, but soon x-esigned 
the office aud resumed the practice of law at Nacogdoches. His partners 
were J. Pinckney Henderson, and Kenneth L. Anderson. In 1843 he was 
elected Major-General of the Militia. In 1845 his fellow-citizens sent him 
to the Annexation Convention, and he was elected President of that body. 
At the first session of the Legislature of the State of Texas, General Rusk 
was elected to the United States Senate ; a position he continued to hold 
until his untimely death by his own hands in 1857. We make some selec- 
tions from a sketch of his life, which appeared in the Texas Almanac for 
1858: 

" General Rusk as Chief Justice of the Republic. — According to that 
only record of the judicial decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas extant, 
Dallam's Digest, at the fall term, 1840, of the Supreme Court of Texas, 
Thomas J. Husk was acting as Chief Justice of that Court, assisted by Wm. 
J. Jones, John T. Mills, A. B. Shelby, and John Hemphill. These gentle- 
men were all District Judges at the time ; and the Supreme Court, like that 
of the United States, was then composed of the Circuit Judges sitting in 
banco. The only opinions of Chief Justice Rusk, which Dallam has handed 
down to posterity, are five short and sententious judgments, covering about 
five pages of that excellent book. They do not display great learning, to 
be sure; but then it is to be recollected that during the first two terms of 
the Supreme Court of the United States, all the Judges did not write half 
so much. The Chief Justice proved himself adequate to the times; if, in 
his sententious opinions, he quoted no authorities, he displayed more wis- 
dom than some of his fellows, who quoted from schools and systems which 
had never been introduced into Texas." 

'' The first Legislature of Texas conferred upon him the office of United 
States Senator, in March, 1846, aud in that position he has ever since con- 
tinued to serve his country with his fidelity, until the day of his death. In 
that august body of which he was a member, he held a pi-oud and influen- 
tial position. For several terms he was at the head of the Post Office Com- 
mittee, and on the election of Mr. Buchanan to the Presidency, the voice of 
the whole nation seemed to unite upon the name of Rusk, as the most proper 
and acceptable in connection with the Postmaster-Generalship of the new 
Cabinet. It was understood that this appointment was offered to him by 
the President elect, and that Mr. Rusk peremptorily declined it. Early in 
the last session of Congress, Mr. Rusk was chosen to the high and responsi- 
ble position of President jjro tern, of the Senate, in which he continued 
until the close of the session, administering the duties of the chair with all 
that dignity, impartiality and ability, so necessary to their acceptable dis- 
charge, and winning the unanimous commendation of the members. No 
one, in fact, was more popular among his fellow-Senators, and none more 
trusted, honoi'cd or beloved. Seldom rising in his place to deliver a set 
speech, he was nevertheless watchful of the interests of liis constituents, 
and the honor and welfare of the Union, and when he did address the Senate 
his words had their designed efiect. The weight of his influence was more 
generally felt in the committee of which he was a member, and in his pri- 
vate intercourse with his colleagues, where his sound practical sense, yet 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 609 

modest and unassuming manners, carried the torce ot conviction with the 
charm of integrity. 

" Had Thomas J. Eusk lived, he could have reached any official position 
in this Union to vehich he would have aspii-ed. Retiring iu his disposi- 

tion, it was with difficulty that his own best friends, who knew and appre- 
ciated his true worth, could induce him to accept the honors they were ever 
ready to confer upon him. Social and domeslic in his habits — warm in 
friendship and devoted in his attachments — he preferred the quiet joys oi 
a private life at home to the noisy plaudits of the multitude abroad ; yet 
while he sought not the latter at any time, he often yielded the former at 
the call of his constituents, and for the benefit of his country. But the 
death, last year, of the life-long partner of his bosom, who had shared with 
him the sorrows of exile and the dangers of revolution, as well as the 
pleasures of honorable distinction and pecuniary prosperity, seemed to un- 
nerve him for the conflict of a public career, and cause him to shrink from 
the world into the sacred retreat of home. It was to him like the rupture 
of his strong heart-sinews, and the tearing asunder of the chords of life. 
Other causes may have contributed to his fatal despondency, but this was 
undoubtedly the heaviest weight of sorrow that dragged him down to 
death. Only noble and sensitive natures are capable of such depth and 
intensity of woe. Let us throw the white veil of charity over the scene of 
his final struggle. Let us wash away that purple stain with the fast-flo v- 
ing tears of sympathy. With reverence let us consign that noble form to 
the mausoleum of the past, and with gratitude inscribe upon the tablet of 
our memory the record of his manly virtues and his patriotic deeds." 

We add a few paragraphs from the eulogy pronounced on Rusk, iu the 
Hall of the House of Representatives of Texas, November 7th, 1857, by 
Chief Justice Hemphill : 

" His deep interest in railroad improvements, and his eflTorts and services 
in giving an impulse to the great line which is to span the continent, and 
link the Atlantic and Pacific together as with bands of iron, were most 
important, but are too familiar to have been forgotten, or even obscured in 
the recollection. 

" He was rarely absent from his post iu the Senate, With untiring 
assiduity he examined thoi-oughly the questions before that body, and his 
opinion when formed, especially on subjects before committees to which he 
was attached, had a force almost irresistible. 

" No man ever served in public life more entirely free fi'om even the sus- 
picion of corrupt, mercenary, or improper motives. With integrity, purity 
and singleness of purpose, he devoted his great talents to his country, 
unswerved by selfish designs, or the impulses of an ill-regulated ambition. 
He was endowed with moral courage in an eminent degree. As an illus- 
tration, on the boundary question, he expressed his determination to vote 
for a proposition which he thought Texas might with honor accept, though, 
from information on which he relied, he felt conscious that by so voting he 
would forfeit his seat in the Senate. This anticipation, happily for the 
country, proved to be groundless. Texas did accept the proposition. But 
his resolution showed that even against a iustly indignant public sentiment. 



610 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

— but exasperated in his opinion to such a degree as to be deaf to the (sug- 
gestions of prudence — he had a spirit which could boldly stand up for what 
he deemed the true honor and interests of the State, though at the risk, 
nay, the certainty of the sacrifice of himself. 

'■'■ He was generous, magnanimous, brave and humane. He was largely 
endoAved with that fine electric quality which seems the gift of nature — the 
result, perhaps, of a rare combination of the higher qualities of the intel- 
lect and of the heart, which inspires confidence, and exerts, in a mystical 
way, a control over suri'ounding persons ; which exacts obedience from a 
soldier more from attachment and a high a- d implicit trust, than from the 
force of discipline ; which, in the hour of danger, draws all to him as the 
pilot who must weather the storm ; which arbitrates and settles the diffi- 
culties of others, makes friends everywhere without effort, knd in legisla- 
tive assemblies, gives an influence which no mere talent, intellect, energy or 
efforts to please can ever possess. 

" General Rusk had all the essentials of genuine eloquence. He mastered 
the strong points of the subject — had clear conceptions, sound practical 
common-sense views. These were expressed with clearness, force, sim- 
plicity, directness, and with a bold and impassioned earnestness if required 
by the occasion, and these, aided by his lofty presence, full voice, and beam- 
ing and expressive countenance, seldom failed to propel the minds of his 
heai'ers before him, and produce conviction, the object of all eloquence. 

'' Without discussing particularly his character as a lawyer and as a 
judge, we may say that he combined the important elements necessary to 
constitute a great lawyer. He had a thorough knowledge of the principles 
of the law — a vast fund of common sense, a familiar acquaintance with the 
springs of human action — a spirit of investigation carried to any extent 
required to enable him to master the gfeat points in the facts and law of 
the cause. 

" In his private relations, he was hospitable and kind, beloved of all his 
neighbors. He lived iu patriarchal simplicity. All were welcome at his 
house ; the humblest visited him, and were equally welcome and at home 
with the richest and greatest of the land. In the words of a friend, benev- 
olence and kindness were more conspicuous in him than in any man he ever 
knew. He was deeply affectionate and tender in his family circle ; no word 
of unkindness to any member of his family was ever heard to flow from 
his lips. His wife, the partner of his bosom in youth and in age, in mis- 
fortune and in prosperity, was cherished by him with an indescribable 
fervor and depth of tenderness, love and affection ; and her death in the 
previous year was a blow to his heart from which he never recovered. 
But it avails not to enumerate his virtues, public or private, or his services, 
or the hopes of his country untimely blighted. He is gone ! so far as a 
great man who lives in the imperishable records of his country's history 
can die. He has left us a bright heritage of liberties won by his valor, and 
sustained and invigorated by the wisdom of his counsels, and he has left a 
glorious example of exalted abilities and noble virtures all devoted to the 
service of his country. 

*' The manner of liis death is the only shade on the grand and brilliauC 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 611 

picture of his long, glorious and useful life. He had been weak and sick 
for some time. The death of his wife had been to him a crusliing affliction. 
His grief, acting through the disordered state of his physical system, pro- 
duced such an increasing degree of gloom and melancholy, as finally to 
weaken the control of reason, and in a moment of temporary insanity to 
produce the melancholy catastrophe which has filled the country with 
lamentation and woe. Let the tears of sympathy flow for this sudden col- 
lapse of one of the finest of mental organizations, striking as it did from 
life and from his country forever, one of her most illustrious and venerated 
patriots and statesmen. 

"Death cometh to all as surely as the sun runneth his daily course, but it 
cannot obliterate the services which this great man has rendered to his 
country. It cannot diminish the brightness of his memory, shining as a 
star in the political heavens, and exerting for ages in the future its benign 
agency over the political destinies of the people. But, fellow-citizciis°I 
will not attempt to detain you longer by this feeble tribute to the memory 
of the deceased. We may not look on his like again. His place may be 
filled, but who can fill the void in the hearts of his countrymen? We may, 
however, attempt to imitate his example, to emulate his virtues, to love our 
country with devoted, uncalculating affection, to give it our heai-ts and 
souls, and if necessary, 'the first and the last drop of blood that runs in 
our veins,' to sustain the honor and rights of our beloved State against all 
opposition and to every extremity, and to fervently hope with him that this 
mighty, this growing Republic, may be perpetuated over a people enjoying 
all the blessings of liberty, and all the beneficent glories of a union of 
patriotic fraternal feeling, and of constitutional and equal rights. " 

Russell, William J.— A native of North Carolina; came to Texas in 
1826 ; in 1832, gathered with the indignant citizens to demand of Brudburn, 
at Anahuac, the release of Jack, Travis, and others, whom he had arbitra- 
rily arrested. Russell was sent with John Austin to Brazoria for a cannon. 
Ugartechea, at Velasco, refused to let the cannon pass that place. Austin 
determined to attack the fort. Russell participated in the fight as captain 
of the vessel on which the cannon had been placed for transportation to 
Anahuac. In 1838, he represented Brazoria county in the Senate. After 
annexation. Captain R. removed to Fayette county, which he represeuledin 
the Legislature in 1849 ; he was also for several years Chief Justice of that 
•county. He is President of the Texas Veteran Association, and resides in 
Austin. 

Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De.— The connection which this distin- 
guished Mexican General and statesman had with Texas aflairs renders it 
proper that a brief summary of his life sliould be given. He was born at 
Jalapa in 1798, and early in life became distinguished as a leader among the 
Republican patriots who were seeking to throw off the Spanish yoker In 
1822, he assisted iu expelling the Royahsts from Vera Cruz, and tlie next 
year pronounced against Iturbide, who had proclaimed himself Emperor. 
In 1828, he took the field against Pedraza and secui-ed the elevation of Guer- 



612 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

rera to the Presidenc}', during whose administration Santa Anna had the' 
portfolio of AVar. In 1830, he was an active partisan of Bustemente, wlio 
was elected President; and, three years later, Santa Anna was himself ele- 
vated to the Presidential chair. He now deserted the party with which he 
had always acted, and formed an alliance with the Church, or Reactionary 
jjarty. Ou the 3d of October, 1835, he issued his celebrated order dissolv- 
ing the Legislature, and virtually establishing a military despotism. We 
need not recount his experiences in Texas ! Sulfice it to say, that he at- 
tempted to justify the Alamo slaughter on the ground of the stubborn re- 
sistance of the garrison ; but even this poor excuse cannot be offered for the 
slaughter of Fannin and his men, who were put to death in cold blood after 
they had surrendered as prisoners of war. That was a butchery^ — barbar- 
ous and wholly unjustifiable on any principles of civilized warfiire. 

The most perplexing question that agitated the government of Texas ad 
interim was the disposition of the captive President of Mexico, after his 
capture at San Jacinto. Not a few of the leading men — among them Lamar, 
Polter, Sherman, W. H. Jack, Mosely Baker, and many of the officers of the 
army — thought he ought to be tried by drum-head court martial ; while Bur- 
net, Houston, Rusk and others contended, as he had been recognized as a 
prisoner of war, and had ordered Filisola to retreat, since his capture — an 
order that General was but too willing to obey, Santa Anna ought to be 
sent home, as had been agreed upon in the treaty with President Burnet. 
As we have elsewhere said, it was thought the schooner Passaic entei'ed the 
Brazos with a plan for rescuing Santa Anna and his suite, who were prison- 
ers at Orazaba. When this failed, it was reported that the discouraged pris- 
oner attempted to take his own life by poison. 

When he reached home, after his ill-starred Texas campaign, he was coldly 
received, and retired at once to his hacienda, at Mango de Clavo. He was 
in the array again in 1858, and in a battle at Vera Cruz, in which the French 
were handsomely I'epulsed, but in which he lost a leg. 

In 1841, at the head of 10,000 men, he pronounced against Bustemente; 
defeated that General, and became virtual Dictator of Mexico ; but was over- 
thrown and banished in 1845. During the invasion of the country by the 
array of General Scott, Santa Anna was recalled, and it is confidently as. 
sertcd that the Araerican blockading fleet permitted hira to land under the 
pledge that he would speedily negotiate a treaty of peace — a promise like 
that made to the Texans, on the battle-ground of San Jacinto, which he 
made no effort to fulfill. He at once took the command of the army, and 
was in the battle of Buena Vista, February 22d, 1847 ; Cerro Gordo, April 
18th; Contrereras, August 19th; Churubusco, August 20th, and Molino del 
Rev, September 9th; after which Scott's army entered the City of Mexico. 
Santa Anna, though he had displayed his youthful energy in mustering his 
forces for these consecutive battles, had been defeated, and retired to volun- 
tary exile; and the Americans had, literally, to create a government with 
which they could establish terms of peacp. 

Santa Anna was recalled to Mexico, and restored to power in 1853. This 
time he was appointed President for life, with the privilege of naming his suc- 
cessor. A successful revolution having occurred, he abdicated August 16th,. 



r 



o 

K 
o 
o 




BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 615 

1855, and went first to Havana and then to St. Thomas ; returned to Mexico 
in 1863, during the French occupation of the country, and issued a mani- 
festo in favor of Maximilian ; but Marshal Bazaiue, suspecting that he med- 
itated treachery, banished him to St. Thomas. In 1868, a revolutionary 
party in Northern Mexico proclaimed Santa Anna Dictator for five years, 
but that movement was soon suppressed by Juarez. In 1871, he returned 
to Mexico, and closed his checkered life at Mango de Clavo in 1876. 

We add an incident in the life of this singular man, related by General 
Waddy Thompson, then Minister to Mexico. The French had sent a ma- 
rauding party into the country, and Santa Anna had issued a strenuous 
order against foreigners. As this operated against the Americans as well 
as the French, Mr. Thompson called to ask for the revocation of the obnox- 
ious law. " I know nothing," said Santa Anna, " about this question of 
international law, but have spent my life in the camp. Eminent Mexican 
lawyers tell me I have a right to enforce such a law ; and if we have, I 
know it will be beneficial to Mexico. These foreigners come here and make 
fortunes and go away. Let them remain here as becomes Mexican citizens, 
and they may enjoy this and all other privileges," but while he was Presi- 
dent he would cut his throat [suiting the action to the word] before he 
would yield anything to menaces [alluding to the note of the French Minis- 
ter] . " What," said he, " has Mexico gained by her revolution, if she is to 
be dictated to by every despot in Europe. Before, we had but one master, 
but if this is submitted to, we shall have twenty. We cannot fight them on 
the waters ; but let them land, and I will drive them to their boats faster than 
I did in 1839 ; and [casting his eye to his mutilated leg, with a tiger-like ex- 
pression in his eye] they have taken one of my legs ; they shall have the 
other, and every limb in my body, before I will submit to their bullying 
and menaces. Let them come ! Let them come 1 1 " 

Scurry, Eichardson. — Was a pi'ivate in the artillery company in the bat- 
tle of San Jacinto. In 1836-37, he was a clerk in the Senate, and 
successively District Attorney and District Judge. Elected to the Eighth 
Congress, he was Speaker of the House. After annexation he, in 1851-53, 
represented the Eastern District in the Congress of the United States. In 
1854 he was severely wounded by the accidental dicharge of a gun. His 
leg was amputated, but he finally died from the effects of the wound, 
in 1862. 

Scurry, William R. — Brother of the above, was District Attorney during 
the Republic ; a Major in the Mexican AVar, in Wood's I'egiment, and greatly 
distinguished himself in the battle of Monterey. In 1862 he was a Lieu- 
tenant Colonel in the Arizona expedition, in Sibley's brigade. On the re- 
turn of the brigade to Texas, he was appointed to the command of the 
Eastern Sub-District; in 1863 was appointed a Brigadier General and 
assigned to duty under Taylor in Louisiana; killed in the battle of Saline, 
Louisiana, April 8th, 1864. 

Seguin, Don Erasmo.— Was born in San Antonio, in 1772, and died in 

34 



616 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the same city, in 1857. In 1822 Seg-uin was sent bj^ Governor Martinez to 
introduce Austin into the country, and assist in selecting a location for his 
colony. At a subsequent period he represented Texas in the Legislature at 
Saltillo. At the breaking out of the Revolution he was Postmaster of San 
Antonio. He was an ardent advocate for a separate Government for Texas. 
During the Revolution lie lost a valuable stock of cattle and horses, taken or 
destroyed by the invading army. He was a high-toned gentleman of truly 
honorable and patriotic sentiments. 

Seguin, Juan N. — Son of the above, was political chief of the Department 
of Bexar ; espoused the Revolutionary cause, and entered the Alamo with 
Travis; was sent to Goliad for re-inforcements, and thus escaped the 
massacre; in command ot a company, joined Houston's army at Gonzales; 
was with Mosely Baker in resisting the advance of Santa Anna at Sai? 
Felipe ; and in the battle of San Jacinto. 

The Seguing and other Mexican families that espoused the cause of Texas 
could not remain in the West, when Santa Anna invaded the country- 
Erasmo Seguin, with his family and the families of his sons, and his neigh- 
bors'' families, retreated to the East. In the joui-ney they suffered incredible 
hardships. When they reached San Augustine, they were all stricken down 
with fever. Erasmo Seguin lost a brother, a son, and several other relatives. 
Enfeebled by disease, and impoverished by losses, after the battle of San 
Jacinto they started back to their once delightful home in the West. " The 
train," says our narrator, " presented a spectacle which beggars description. 
Old men, women and children, lying in wagons; and for several day? 
Captain Manchaca, who was the only person able to stand up, had to drive 
the whole train, as well as attend to the side." Arrived in the West, they 
found their homes desolate and their immense herds of cattle, horses and 
sheep, destroyed. 

After the i-etreat of the Mexicans, John N. Seguin was promoted to the 
rank of Colonel and appointed commander of his native city. He performed 
the patrioic task of collecting the remains of the victims of the Alamo, and 
gave them an honorable burial. San Antonio was so far on the frontier that 
the Texans almost despaired of ever being able to defend it; and at one 
time an order was issued for the destruction of the city and the transfer of 
the population to the east side of the Guadalupe river. Seguin made so 
earnest a protest that it was revoked. In 1839 he represented Bexar county 
in the Senate. At a subsequent period, he had serious personal misunder- 
standings with some of the Americans of San Antonio ; his life was threat- 
ened, and he left the country. His friends think he was badly treated ; 
but that furnishes no excuse for his subsequent conduct. When Woll 
invaded Texas, in 1842, Seguin was one of his staff officers, and fought 
against the Texans in the battle of Salado. He was a Colonel in the 
Mexican army at the battle of Buena Vista. He resigned soon afterwards^ 
and, with the assistance of some American officers, made his way back to 
Texas with his family. He now (1878) lives with his son, at Santiago, near 
Comargo, Mexico. 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 617 

Shackleford, Dr. John. — Brought to Texas from North Alabama, in 
1836, a company called the Red Hovers, composed of some of the leading 
young men of the country, his own son being one of the number. His 
company was with Fannin, and surrendered at the Coleta and was marched 
back to Goliad, and shared the fate of that unfortunate command. Dr. S. 
being a surgeon, was spared to attend the wounded. He died in Tuscumbia, 
Alabama, in 1857. 

Shaw, James. — Came to Texas in schooner Hope, in 1831 ; was in the 
Texas Congress in 1841-42, and in the Legislature in 1853 ; and now lives in 
Burleson county. 

Sherman, Sidney. — Was a native of Massachusetts ; a descendant of Eoger 
Sherman, of Revolutionary fame. In early life he removed to Cincinnati j 
in 1835, was in Newport, Kentucky, eugaged in the manufacture of bag- 
ging by machinery. At the call for volunteers for Texas, he abandoned 
his business, raised and equipped a company of fifty men, and started for 
the theatre of war. He arrived on the Brazos in February, and hurried 
forward to Gonzales, intending to go to the I'elief of Travis, then shut up 
in the Alamo; but failed to get a sufficiently large force to justify him in 
the undertaking. At the organization of the first regiment at Gonzales, 
Burleson was elected Colonel, and Sherman Lieutenant-Colonel. When 
the army reached the Brazos, another regiment was organized, of which 
Sherman was elected Colonel. 

At San Jacinto, on the 20th of April, 1836, Colonel Sherman led the small 
squadron of cavalry (sixty-eight in number) in an attack upon a detach- 
ment of the enemy, that occupied an island of timber between the hostile 
camps. He conducted the attack with admirable gallantry, but soon dis- 
covered that he was about to become involved in a contest with a force 
greatly outnumbering him. He adroitly extricated himself, with small 
loss, and returned to camp. On the 21st of April, in the battle of San 
Jacinto, of world-wide fame, he commanded the left wing and opened the 
onslaught. He first sounded the war-cry — " Remember the Alamo f 
Goliad and the Alamo! " It was a day of vengeance and deep retribution ; 
and Colonel Sherman acted a full and conspicuous part in its consumma- 
tion. 

After remaining with the army several months in the West, and finding 
the enemy not disposed to return. Colonel Sherman asked permission to 
return to Kentucky, where he had left his wife. President Burnet did not 
accept his resignation, which he had tendered, but gave him a commission 
as a Colonel of a regiment of cavalry in the regular service, with orders to 
proceed to the United States and enlist his men, etc. Before leaving the 
Brazos, he was taken sick and confined to his bed for ten weeks, and was 
for some time in a very critical condition, his recovery being very doubtful. 
When about to leave his companions in arms, the Secretary of War ])re- 
sented him with the stand of colors which he had brought to the country, 
accompanied with the following note : 



618 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

War Department, Velasco, August 6th, 1836. 

This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to 
Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which triumphantly waved on the 
memorable battle-field of San Jacinto ; and is by the Government presented 
to the lady of Colonel Sidney Sherman, as a testimonial of his gallant con- 
duct on that occasion. A. Somervell, Secretary of War. 

Approved, David G. Burnet. 

Colonel Sherman was again taken sick in Louisiana, on his way home, 
and was confined six weeks. In consequence of his exposures and fatigues 
in the army, his health was seriously impaired for a long time. Notwith- 
standing his very infirm health, soon after reaching home, he sent out some 
troops and a quantity of clothing for those in the field, Avho were very 
destitute, [n January, 1837, he arrived with his family in Texas, and 
shortly after settled upon the San Jacinto Bay, where he resided for several 
years. In 1842, he was elected a Eepresentative in the Texas Congress, for 
Harris county, and was appointed Chairman of the Military Committee. His 
health being still but partially resuscitated, he was able to occupy his seat 
but for a small portion of the session. As Chairman, etc., he introduced a 
bill providing for the election of a Major-General of Militia, and the protec- 
tion of the frontier. This bill was vetoed by President Houston, but passed 
both Houses of Congress by a constitutional majority. The election was to 
be by joint ballot of both Houses, and hold for one year, the people after- 
wards to elect a Major-General for the term of four years. The expediency 
of the first election was suggested by the very exposed and suffering con- 
dition of the inland frontier. Colonel Sherman was urged to be a candi- 
date for that office, but he declined in favor of General Rusk, who was 
elected. At the expiration of General Rusk's term, Sherman was elected 
Major-General by a popular vote, which office he held until annexation and 
the State Constitution. While in that office, he was appointed by the 
Congress, President of the Court-Martial for the trial of Commodore" 
Moore and other naval officers. The Court sat for six weeks, and the 
parties charged were honorably acquitted. 

On his I'etU'ement from military service, Sherman lost none of the ener- 
gies which had characterized him in the field, but displayed in the occupa- 
tions of private life useful enterprise and creative talents of a valuable 
order. 

In 1846, he conceived the idea of rebuilding the town of Harrisburg, 
which had been destroyed by Santa Anna in 1836. With this view, he 
purchased a large interest in the town-site and 4,000 acres of land adjoining 
it. He then proceeded to Boston, where he enlisted capitalists and organ- 
ized a company to build a railway from Harrisburg westward. The diffi- 
culties to contend with were neither few nor small. The country was new 
and but imperfectly known abroad ; the population and agricultural produc- 
tions were inconsiderable, and labor of every character difficult to obtain. 
Yet his unabated perseverance removed obstacles, and success finally 
crowned the enterprises : the rebuilding of the town and the construction 
of the first railway in Texas. 

The shrill wlustle of the " General Sherman " was the first glad sound of 
the locomotive that broke upon the solitude of Texas forests, and roused to 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 619 

new life the slumbering energies of her hardy people. This locomotive -was 
the first that appeared west of the Sabine, and the second west of the Mis- 
sissippi — one at St. Louis was introduced a few months before. Tims 
Sidney Sherman will not only be remembered as a chivalrous soldier, 
whose best years were spent in the service of Texas, but as the father of a 
railroad system which has conferred inestimable blessings upon the people, 
and whose future benefits will be more profoundly appreciated*when our 
population shall be quadrupled and the whole area of our extensive territory 
traversed by a net-work of railways. 

In chronicling the events of the past few years of his life, it is but the rec- 
ord of successive misfortunes. In 1853, he lost a valuable saw-mill by fire. 
Subsequently his dwelling in Harrisburg was burned, then one of the finest 
buildings in the State. Being homeless, he sent his family to Kentucky, and 
removed to the railroad office, which was shortly afterward consumed by 
fire. His remaining possessions and valuable papers, which had been ac- 
cumulated for thirty years, were destroyed. They were not only import- 
ant to himself, but, as relating to public affairs, would have been of great 
value to the future historian of our country. 

General Sherman was one of the unfortunate passengers on the ill-fated 
steamer Farmer, which exploded her boilers within a few miles of Galves- 
ton, occasioning the loss of some thirty or forty lives, and seriously injur- 
ing many others. He was thrown from his berth, with a portion of the 
wreck, some hundred yards into the water, but, though injured, succeeded 
in saving himself on the fragments of the wheel-house. 

Like most of the soldiers and statesmen who participated in the early 
struggles of the country, he derived httle material benefit from its redemp- 
tion. 

In 1863, at the retaking of Galveston by the Conffederates, under Magru- 
der, General Sherman's pi-omising son was killed. He died in Galveston 
ten years later, his wife and daughter having preceded him to the Spirit 
Land. 

Smith, Dr. Ashbel — Came from Connecticut to Texas in 1837, and was 
soon afterward appointed Surgeon-General in the army. In 1842-5, he was 
Minister to France ; in 1846, connected with Taylor's army in Mexico ; in 1849, 
he was President of the Board of Examiners at West Point ; in 1856, in the 
Legislature from Harris county; in 1861, entered the Confederate army, 
with the rank of Captain, and was atterward promoted to the rank of Colo- 
nel of the Second Texas Infimtry. In 1866, he was again in the Legislature ; 
1878, the Commissioner from Texas to the Paris Exposition. He lives on 
Galveston Bay, in Harris county, which he represents in the Legislature 
in 1879. 

Smith, Ben. Fort. — A native of Kentucky ; in early life, removed to Mis- 
sissippi ; at 16 years of age, fought in the battle of New Orleans ; repre- 
sented nines county in the first Legislature of Mississippi, after which Gen- 
eral Jackson appointed him Indian Agent. When the Revolution broke out 
in Texas he raised a volunteer company ; arrived at Victoria too late to pai-- 
ticipate in the taking of Goliad; fought as a private at San Jacinto in the 
-cavalry company. In 1837, he was President of the Board of Land Com- 



620 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

missioners of Harris county ; was in the Texas Congress in 1840, and died 
in Montgomery county in 1841. 

Smith, ERASsros (Deaf) . — The fb-mous guide and spy in "Western Texas ; 
"was a native of New York; visited Texas as an adventurer in 1817 ; became 
a permanent citizen in 1821. Being hai-d of hearing from his childliood, he 
was incline'd to soUtude. In company lie was reticent and seemed absorbed 
in thought. Bold, fearless, enterprising, cautious, and a close observer of 
nature, he was the very man for the fl'ontier. 

Smith was with the first families of De Witt's colony that settled at Gon- 
zales in 1825, but when that infant settlement was broken up by the Indians 
he went to San Antoiuo, where he married a Mexican lady. When the dif- 
ficulties first arose between the Americans and the Mexican government, it 
was reported that Smith was disinclined to take any active part, as he was 
connected with a Mexican family. But the arrest of Zavalla, "Williamson, 
Sam Williams, Moore, and others, decided him to cast his lot and influence 
with Texas, and Texas had no truer or braver defender. He joined the 
army under Austin, then marching for San Antonio, and his thorough ac- 
quaintance with the country, his coolness and his courage, pointed him out 
as the proper one to command a spy company. He piloted Fannin from the 
Mission Espada to Concepcion, and was the first to fire a gun in the fight 
which ensued. In the attack on San Antonio, he marched at the head of 
Johnson's division as guide. In the progress of the fight, he, with a few 
trusted companions, ascended to the top of the "Veramendi House, near 
which Milam was killed, and while on the top of the house, he and Lieuten- 
ant John L. Hall, of the New Orleans Grays, were wounded. At Gonzales, 
when General Houston heard of the fall of the Alamo, he dispatched Smith, 
Henry Karnes, and R. E. Handy toward the city to ascertain the truth. 
After proceeding about twenty miles, they met Mrs. Dickinson with her 
child, Sam, a servant of Travis, and Ben, a free negro servant of Almonte, 
who fully confirmed the sad intelligence. In the retreat from Gonzales, 
Smith, with a small company, remained in the rear of the main army, to 
protect families and watch the movements Of the Mexicans. At San Felipe 
an incident occurred which he deeply regretted. He was not only hard of 
hearing, but his eyesight was somewhat defective, especially at a distance. 
He and one of his men were out for observations, when they saw what ap- 
peared to be an army approaching the town. His companion said it was 
the advance of the Mexican army, and they hastened to town to report. 
The town was burned, and many goods and provisions destroyed. It was 
a false alarm, the enemy not appearing for several days. It has never been 
ascertained by Avhose order the town was destroyed ; Baker declaring that 
Houston ordered it, and Houston denying that he ever gave such an order. 
It was done probably through a misunderstanding. 

While the Texans were at Harrisburg, Smith had the good fortune, while 
out reconnoitering, to capture a Mexican courier, with an important mail. 
From this the Texans learned that Santa Anna was with the advance divis- 
ion of his army, then at Morgan's Point. On the morning of the 21st of 
April, Smith, with a few companions, M'as detailed for the dangerous and 
important service of desti'oying Vince's bridge, which was accomplished. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 621 

The day after the battle, and after the captiu'e of Santa Anna, Deaf Smith 
■vfas sent to the camp of Filisola, with the orders of tlie President for liim to 
retreat westward. In 1837 he was Captain of a ranging company in the 
West. He left San Antonio March 6th, and on the 16th was camped at the 
Chacon, a small stream within five miles of the town of Laredo. Here he 
was discovered by the scouts of the enemy. Anticipating an attack, he 
took a position iu a mesquite thicket. A company of Mexican cavalry, of 
twice their number, advanced to the attack, but after having ten killed and 
as many wounded, they retired to the town. Two of the Texans were 
wounded. On retiring to civil life, Smith became a resident of Richmond, 
and in company with John P. Borden established a land agency business. He 
died at that place, November 30th, 1837. The Houston Telegraph, draped in 
mourning, and announcing his death, said: "This singular individual was 
one whose name bears with it more of respect than sounding titles. Major, 
Colonel, General, sink into insignificance before the simple name of Deaf 
Smith. That name is identified with the battle-fields of Texas. His eulogy 
is inseparably interwoven with the most thrilling annals of our country, 
and will long yield to our traditionary narratives a peculiar interest."* 

Smith, Henry. — Governor of Texas in 1835 ; was a native of Kentucky, 
but went in early life to Missouri. In 1821, entered Texas and after spend- 
ing some time in the settlement on Red river, became a permanent resident 
of Brazoria County, where he taught school in 1827 ; he was wounded in 
the battle of Velasco, in 1832 ; was a member of the Convention in 1833 ; 
and an Alcade, and acting j)olitical chief the next year; was a member of 
the General Consultation in 1835, and was appointed Provisional Governor 
of the new State, which was then expected to remain a member of the 
Mexican Confederation. A serious misunderstanding between the Governor 
and the Executive Council led the latter body to depose him ; but he declined 
to surrender his ofiice, and the controversy was still unsettled, when the 
Provisional Government was displaced by the new Goverment ad interim, 
after the Declaration of Independence in 1836. At the election in the fall 
of 1836, Smith was a candidate for President; was defeated but invited by 
President Houston to the office of Secretary of the Treasury — a position 
he filled with marked ability, notwithstanding the affected sarcasms of 
Gouge, in his Fiscal History. At the close of Houston's term, Smith retired 
to his home in Brazoria county. In 1810 he emigrated to California, where 
he died in 1853. At the time of his death he was making preparations to 
return to Texas. 

Smith, James. — For whom Smith county was named, was commander of 
the militia called into service in 1844 to quell the disturbances between the 
Regulators and Moderators. 



* Many apocryphal incidents have been interwoven with the name of Deaf Smith. 
The last that has; passed under our notice wa< tliat of a duel about tlie Archive War. The 
difficulties growing out of the removal of the Archives occurred dn 1842-43. Smith 
died in 1837. 



622 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Smith, Thomas I. — A native of Tennessee, came to Texas in 1836, and 
joined the army then under the command of Felix Huston ; was wounded 
in tlie tiglit with Woll's men, at Salado creek, in 1842; and was soon after- 
ward dispatched with a small force to remove the public archives from 
Austin. In this he was unsuccessful. The next year settled on Chambers' 
creek, Ellis county ; in 1844 conducted a scouting party, against the Indians, 
into the Wichita mountains ; in 1847 was in command of a ranging companj', 
with headquarters onKichland creek; and died in Austin, in 1847. 

Smyth, George W — A native of North (Jarolina ; came to Texas during 
Colonial times, and was Land Commissioner in Jasper county ; was in the 
Convention in 1836 ; in 1837, President of the Board of Land Commissioners 
of Jasper county ; 1845, in Annexation Convention ; 1848-1852, Commis- 
sioner of General Land Office ; 1853-55, in United States Congress ; in 1866 
a member of the Eeconstruction Convention, and died in Austin during the 
session. 

Somervell, Alexander. — Came to Texas in 1833, and in company with 
James F. Perry opened a store in San Felipe. At the orgaizatiou of the 
army at Gonzales in 1836, he was elected Major in Burleson's regiment, and 
when the re-organization toolc place, on the Brazos, he became Lieutenant 
Colonel, and commanded tlie right wing of the regiment at San Jacinto. 
He was, for a time. Acting Secretary of War in Burnet's Cabinet, and 
afterwards Senator in the Texas Congress. In 1841, he was elected Briga- 
dier General of the militia ; and the next yeai', commanded an expedition 
ordered to the Kio Grande by General Houston. After liis return from the 
West, he was appointed Collector of Customs at Saluria, and held that 
position until annexation, when he was re-appointed to the same office, and 
held it until liis death, in 1854. No satisfactory statement of the manner of 
his death has ever been given to tlie public. He started from Lavaca to 
Saluria, in a small boat, carrying a considerable amount of money. When 
found, the boat was bottom side up, and General Somervell was lashed to 
the timbers. Whetlier he was killed for money, which was never found, or 
the boat capsized, will probably never be known. 

Stapp, Darwin M. — A native of Kentucky; came to Texas in 1830; 
joined the army in 1835 ; was in the State Legislature in 1850-54 ; in 1856- 
1864, Collector of Customs at Indianola; in Secession Convention in 1861, 
and died in Victoria, in 1875. 

Sterne, Adolphus. — A native of Germany ; settled in East Texas in 1826 ; 
was an active patriot during the Eevolutionary period, and after annexation, 
served in the Legislature; died in New Orleans, in 1852. 

Stewart, Dr. C. B. — Came from South Carolina to Texas in 1820; was 
Secretary of the Convention in 1835, and a member of the Convention in 
1836; was in the Legislature in 1850-51, and again in 1875. Resides iu 
Montgomery county. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 625 

Sutherland, George. — Came from North Alabama to Texas in 1830, and 
settled on the plantation on which he died, in 1855, in Jackson county. 
He was in the Convention in 1833 ; had a horse killed under him at San 
Jacinto, April 20th, 1836 ; was a member of the Second Congress of the 
Republic. 

Swisher, James G. — Immigrated to Texas during the Colonial period 
and settled in Wasliington county ; was Captain of a company at the taking 
of San Antonio, in 1835, and a member of the Convention in 1836. After 
annexation lie removed to Austin, where he died in 1862. Mrs. Swisher 
lived until 1875. 

Tarrant, E. H. — Was born in North Carolina, in the year 1800; fought 
in the battle of New Orleans ; came to Texas in 1835 ; served successively 
in the Congress of the Republic and in the army. He was in command on 
the Northern frontier, and was in the battle in which John B. Benton was 
killed, in 1841. He was a member of the Annexation Convention, and 
afterwards in the State Legislature. He died in Ellis county in 1858. 

Teel, Henry. — A Captain at San Jacinto; was sent as one of the Com- 
missioners with Santa Anna's order to Filisola ; was imprisoned at Mata- 
moras ; he made liis escape, and while with the army camped on the Lavaca 
river in the fall of 1837, was shot while asleep in his tent. The murderer 
was a man by the name of Shultz, who, though not suspected at the time, 
was afterwards tried in Galveston for another murder, and confessed to the 
killing of Teel. Shultz had formerly belonged to the Murrell band in 
Mississippi. 

Teran, J. MiER Y. — A violent Centralist of Mexico, who was, in 1830, 
commander of the Eastern internal provinces. He visited Texas in 1831, 
and established the posts of Teran, on the Neches, and Anahuac, on Gal- 
veston bay. It was his intention to bring Texas into complete subjection 
to the Centralist party, and he sent garrisons to our principal posts. On 
the triumph of the Liberal party in 1832, Teran killed himself rather than 
fall into the hands of the Republicans. 

Throckmorton, J. W. — "Was born in Tennessee in 1825; immigrated 

["With his fathei''s family to Texas in 1841, and settled in Collin county. 

['(His father. Dr. William E. Throckmorton, for whom Throckmorton county 

was named, died in Collin county, in 1842). J. W. Throckmorton was in 

rthe Legislature from 1851 to 1856, when he was elected to the Senate, and 

remained in that body until 1861; was in the Secession Convention, and 

one of the seven who voted against secession. He gave his No! with an 

►emphasis. This was liissed in the gallery, when he exclaimed: '' When 

[the rabble hiss, patriots may tremble ! " After the adjournment of the Con- 

[Tention, he raised a company and entered the Confederate service, first in 

[Young's, and afterwards in B, Warren Stone's regiment, of which he 

Itecame Major. He was with M'CuUoch at the battle of Elk Horn, and 



626 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

afterwards in the army of Dick Taylor. He was again elected to the 
Senate in 1863. In 186i, Governor Murrah commissioned liim as a Briga- 
dier-General; and assigned him to the command of the Northern frontier, 
with headquarters at Decatur, AVise county. Early in 1865, General E. 
Kirby Smith appointed him general Indian Agent, with special authority to 
treat with the wild Indians. After consulting with Generals M'Culloch at 
Bonham, Maxey at Fort Towson, and Cooper at Fort Washita, he, in May, 
collected at the latter post, large numbers of chiefs and warriors of the 
Choctaws, Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, and Osages, of the more friendly 
tribes, and representatives of various bands of Comauches, Cheyennes, 
Caddoes, Arapahoes, Lipans and Kickapoos, and a few Sioux. He made 
a treaty very advantageous to Texas; but when he returned General Lee 
had surrendered, and the Confederate armies were on the point of disband- 
ing. He was elected to the first Reconstruction Convention in 1SG6, and 
called to preside over that body. At the ensuing popular election, he was 
elected Governor of the State. After filling the gubernatorial chair for a 
little over a year. General Sheridan, then in command at New Orleans, 
which included Texas, pronounced him " an impediment to reconstruc- 
tion," and removed him from office. His political disabilities having been 
removed, in 1874 he was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1876. In 
1878, he was a prominent candidate before the Democratic State Conven- 
tion, for the oflice of Governor, but failed to receive the nomination. He 
resides in McKinney. 

Toledo, Don Alvarez. — A Cuban patriot of splendid abilities; joined. 
Morelos in his attempt to revolutionize Mexico, and when that effort failed, 
he, in 1813, appeared at San Antonio, and was elected commander ot the 
Republicans then in possession of the city. He displayed wonderful energy 
in organizing his forces, and preparing to defeat the Royalist army ap- 
proaching under Arredondo. The treachery of some of the Republican 
officers caused his defeat, and he fled to the United States ; and was indicted 
for attempting to get up another expedition against Mexico. He and Mina 
next formed a plan for the conquest of Florida. Here he was again 
thwarted ; and his next move was to visit New York, for an interview with 
Aaron Burr, in hopes of reviving the project once entertained by that gen- 
tleman. Burr was without means or influence; and Toledo finally made 
his submission to the king of Spain, and re-entered the service of that 
sovereign. 

TouRY Family. — During Houston's first Presidential term, the Terry 
brothers established a trading post at the old Waco village, on the Brazos 
I'iver. In 184^0, the trading-house was removed to the neighborhood of 
Comanche Peak, about one hundred miles above Waco. In 1843, David 
Torry was an Indian agent, and died while at Bird's Fort, on the Trinity, 
negotiating a treaty. David S. Torry was killed by the Apaches, in 1850. 
John S. Torry, another brother, lives in New Brauufels, where he estab- 
lished a cloth factory. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 627 

Travis, William B.— The hero of the Alamo; was a native of North 
Carolina, but was raised in Alabama. In early life he taught school, and 
studied law. He married one of his pupils, and a year later, leaving his 
family in Alabama, he came to Texas. He located in Anahuac, where 
Bradburn was then exercising his petty tyrannies. Commenting somewhat 
freely on the conduct of the commander, he was seized and confined a 
pi-isoner in the barracks, with others who had incurred the displeasure of 
the haughty officer. After his release, he removed to San Felipe, the capi- 
tal of the colony. He then had to compete, in his profession, with such 
men as R. M. Williamson, T. J. Chambers, Ira R. Lewis, William H. 
and P. C. Jack, Mosely Baker, Luke Lassassier, and others of less note. 
While Secretary of the Ayuiitamiento, in 1834, he drew up an able petition, 
praying for the release of General Austin, who was then confined in the 
city of Mexico. In the spring of 1835, Santa Anna sent a small squad of 
troops, under a Captain Tenorio, to garrison the post at Anahuac. Travis, 
smarting under the wrongs he had suffered from Bradburn, raised a com- 
pany, and captured, and disarmed Tenorio and his men. But this act was 
promptly disavowed by the authorities, and the men released, and their 
arms and papers restored. On the first of September, 1835, Ugartechea, 
then in command at San Antonio, ordered the arrest of some obnoxious 
Texans, Travis among them. Nothing daunted by this order, Travis 
hastened west and joined the army under Austin, In November, while out 
on a scout, he captured two hundred Mexican horses, about forty miles 
below the city. Among the very singular orders issued by General Hous- 
ton, when elected Commander-in-Chief, was one sending Travis to San 
Felipe and Fannin to Velasco, on recruiting service. We say singular, 
because it would have been supposed that such soldiers would have been 
needed in the front. 

If Travis went to San Felipe, he did not long remain there. Early in De- 
cember, the Council elected Neill Lieutenant-Colonel and Travis Major of 
Artillery. Yoakum says that Governor Smith ordered Trr.vis back to San 
Antonio, and when Neill, in obedience to Houston's order, left that city, 
Travis became commander. He found less than one hundred soldiers ou 
duty, most of those who had assisted in the capture of the city having re- 
turned to their homes, or having joined the party of Grant and Johnson in 
their expedition to the Southwest. One of Travis' first calls was for five 
hundred recruits, and he requested that they should be Regulars, supplied 
with all necessary arms and clothing. The recruits never reported, but he 
made all practicable iireparation to meet the foe, who was massing his 
forces on the Rio Grande for the Texas campaign. 

Santa Anna's advance division reached the Alasan, in the neigliborhood of 
the city, February 22d, 183G, when Travis, with his brave band of one hun- 
dred and forty-five men, retired to the fortress of the Alamo, which had been 
put bi a state for defense. On the 24th he wrote as follows : " To the people 
of Texas and all Americans in the world — Fellow citizens and compatriots: 
I am besieged by a thousand or more Mexicans, under Santa Anna. I 
have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for twenty-four 
hours, and have not lost a man. The enemy have demanded ' a surrender 



628 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

at discretion/ or that the garrison will be put to the sword when taken. I 
have answered the summons with a cannon-shot, and our flag still waves 
proudly from the walls. I shall never surreyider or retreat. Then I call 
upon you, in the name of liberty, patriotism, and everything dear to the 
American character, to come to our aid with dispatch. The enemy are re- 
ceiving reinforcements daily, and will doubtless in a few days be increased 
to three or four thousand. Though this call may be neglected, I am deter- 
mined to sustain myself as long as possible, and die like a soldier who 
never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. Victory 
or death! ^'' In a postscript he added: '* The Lord is on our side. When 
the enemy appeared in sight, we had not three bushels of corn. "We have 
since found in deserted houses eighty or ninety bushels, and got into the 
walls twenty or thirty beeves." 

On the 3d of March, he wrote again to the Convention at Washington : 
** I am still here, in fine spirits, and well to do. With one hundred and 
forty-five men, I have held the place against a force variously estimated from 
1,500 to 6,000; and I shall continue to hold it until I get relief from my 
countrymen, or I will perish in its defense. We have had a shower of 
bombs and cannon-balls contiually falling among us the whole time ; yet 
none of us have fallen. We have been mii-aculously preserved. * * * 
Again, I feel confident that the determined spirit and desperate courage 
heretofore exhibited by my men will not fail them in the last struggle ; and 
although they may be sacrificed to the vengeance of a Gothic enemy, the 
victory will cost that enemy so dear that it will be worse than a defeat. 

* * * A blood-red banner waves from the church in Bexar, and in the 
camp above us, in token that the war is one of vengeance against rebels. 

* * * These threats have had no influence on my men, but to make all 
fight with desperation and with that high-souled courage which character- 
izes the patriot who is willing to die in defense of his country's liberty and 
his own honor. God and Texas ! Victory or death ! ! " 

In a private note to a friend, Travis adds: " Take care of my little boy. 
If the country should be saved, I may make him a splendid fortune ; but if 
the country should be lost, and I should perish, he will have nothing but 
the proud recollection that he is the son of a man who died for his country." 

Three days after these last letters were sent off, the final grand assault of 
the enemy was ordered, and the Alamo fell. According to the most reliable 
reports we have of the final struggle, Travis was in command of a gun on 
the south wall, and fell early in the action. Kennedy says: "Travis I'e- 
ceived a shot and fell as he stood on the walls, cheering his men. When 
he dropped, a Mexican officer reached forward to dispatch him. Summon- 
ing up his powers for a final effort, Travis met his assailant with a thrust of 
his sword, and both expired together." So perished Wilt-tam Baurett 
Tkavis, the hero of the Alamo. He was in his tweflty-eighth year. In 
person, he was about six feet high, weighed 170 pounds, light hair, blue 
eyes, with reddish beard and whiskers, fair complexion, round features, 
well proportioned, fine looking fignre. His son, Charles, died in 1870. A 
daughter, Mrs. Grissett, lives in Washington county. 



BIOGKAPHICAL NOTICES. 629 

Turner, Amasa. — A native of Massachusetts ; born in 1800 ; came to Texas 
in 1835, and settled in Bastrop; was the first to receive a Captain's commis- 
sion from General Houston, after his appointment as commander of the 
army in 1835 ; went to Alabama and enlisted a company of regulars to serve 
in the Texas army during the war ; reached Texas and reported to Houston 
February 27th, 1836 ; commanded his company at San Jacinto. After the 
battle, was for a time commander of the post of Galveston. While at Vc- 
lasco on business connected with his command, he thwarted the attempt to 
arrest President Burnet and overthrow the civil government. During the 
Republic, Colonel Turner resided at Galveston, having been one of the 
first to settle upon the island ; after annexation, opened a cotton plantation 
in Lavaca county; sei'ved in the Legislature in 1850 and 1851, and in the 
Senate in 1852-53. During the civil war, was Provost-Marshal of Lavaca 
county; at the close of the war removed to the town of Gonzales, where he 
died, July 21st, 1877. 

Vanzandt, Isaac. — Was a member of the House of Representatives of the 
Fifth Congress ; Minister to the United States in 1842 ; in 1847 was a prom- 
inent candidate for Governor, but during the canvass died of the yellow 
fever in Houston. 

Walker, Samuel H. — Was one of the Mier prisoners ; wounded when 
they overpowered the guard at Salado ; wounded again in 1844, while in 
Hays' Ranging company, in a fight with the Indians; was one of the first 
Texas Captains to join Taylor's army on the Rio Grande, and appointed 
Captain of a scouting and spy company. In a few weeks, in this daring 
service, he lost one-half of his men. He was first a Captain and then a 
Lieutenant-Colonel of a newly-formed regiment of dragoons ; distinguished 
himself at the battle of Monterey, and was killed at the battle of Human- 
tla, in 1847. His body, with that of Captain Gillespie, was brought back 
to Texas and interred at San Antonio. 

Waller, Edwin.— Came from Virginia to Texas in 1831 ; was slightly 
wounded in the battle of Velasco, in 1832; in 1833, he was Alcalde at 
Brazoria ; 1835, in the Consultation ; 1836, in the Convention at Washing- 
ton ; 1838-39, Commissioner to lay out the new city of Austin and sell the 
lots; for a time filled the office of Postmaster-General. After annexation, 
he was for twelve years Chief Justice of Austin county, and represented 
that county in the Secession Convention in 1861.' In 1873, he was President 
of the Texas Veteran Association ; lives in Waller county. 

Ward, Thomas William.— A native of Ireland ; came to Texas in 1835 
' with the New Orleans Grays ; at the taking of San Antonio, was Captain 
of Artillery, and lost a leg ; he snbsequently lost an arm by the accidental 
discharge of a gun. A wooden leg gave him the name of " Peg-leg " A^^ard. 
In 1840, he was Mayor of Austin ; 1841-48, Commissioner of General Land 
Office; 1853, American Consul at Panama; 1867, Collector of Customs at 
Corpus Christi ; was defeated for the office of Land Commissioner in 1869 ; 
and died in Austin in 1872. 



'630 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Watrous, John C— Was a native of Shelby county, Alabama, and 
Attorney-General under President Lamar. After annexation, he was 
appointed United States District Judge, and held the office until he was 
stricken with paralysis in 1869 ; he died in 1874. 

Webb, James.— Came from Florida to Texas; Was Secretary of State 
under Lamar; and after annexation. District Judge; he died iu 1856. 

Wharton, William H.— A native of Virginia; came from Nashville, 
Tennessee, to Texas, in feeble health, in 1829. His health improved and 
he commenced the practice of law; married the daughter of Jared E. 
Groce, one of his first clients ; was President of the Convention in 1833 ; iu 
1835, was with the army at San Antonio ; but was sent by the Consulta- 
tion, as one of the Commissioners to the United States; 1836-37, Min- 
ister to the United States ; on his voyage back, was captured on the Gulf 
and imprisoned in Matamoras ; made his escape, and represented Brazoria 
county in the Senate iu 1838-39. While mounting his horse at Mr. L. 
Groce's, was mortally wounded by the accideutal discharge of his pistol. 
This was in March, 1839. 

Wharton, John A.— Brother of the above ; was in the Consultation iu 
1835; Adjutant on Houston's staff at San Jacinto, and afterwards Secretary 
of the Navy; member of Congress from Brazoria in 1838, and died the 
same year. In a eulogy pronounced by President Burnet, he said . " A 
nobler spirit than John A. Wharton's does not adorn the annals of Texas." 

White, S. Addison.— Found his first employment in Texas as an over- 
seer on the plantation of Judge AValler, and while so employed, found time 
to read law; was in the Congress of the Republic, and after annexation, 
served in the State Legislature. In 1865 he was appointed District Judge 
under the Provisional Government. He, for many years, conducted a 
newspaper in Victoria. He died in Indianola, in 1869. 

Wilbarger Family.— Came from Kentucky to Texas in 1830, and set- 
tled on a creek that bears their name, in Bastrop county. In 1833, Josiah 
Wilbarger and two companions, while out hunting, were attacked by 
Indians. One was instantly killed; young Hornsby escaped on a fleet 
Jiorse to Bastrop ; Wilbarger was scalped and left for dead. He had suf- 
ficient life to crawl to a water-hole, where his neighbors found hiui the 
next day, still living. He survived twelve years, and married, but finally 
died from the effects of the wound. His brother Mattliias, Surveyor of 
Milam Land District, died of the small-pox in Georgetown, in 1852. 

Williams Augustus W.— Brought a company to Texas iu 1842 ; repre- 
sented Fayette county in the Ninth Congress; in a duel, growing out of a 
political canvass, just before the extra session of Congress, he killed Mr. 
Gaudinier, the slieriff of Fayette county. Mr. Williams was a member of 
the Annexation Convention, after which he removed to Brownsville, where 
he died iu 1847. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 631 

Williams, Egbert H.— Came from North Alabama to Texas in 1830, 
and settled on a plantation in Matagorda county ; lost an eye in the battle 
of Velasco in 1833; is still living (1878), 

Williams, Samuel M.— Was a native of Baltimore ; while young, spent 
several years in Mexico, where he acquired a thorough knowledge of the 
language. He met in Mexico Colonel Jared E. Groce, who invite'd him to 
Texas. He arrived at the mouth of the Colorado in 1822, in the same vessel 
with Jonathan C. Peyton, Mrs. Eberle, Messrs. Clopton, Clare and other 
colonists. At the opening of the Land Office in San Felipe, in 182i, Mr. 
Williams became the Secretary, and he kept the records of the Land Office 
for Austin's colony during the whole colonial period. In reference to 
these books, Judge Burnet, who had frequent occasions to consult them, 
says : " There cannot be found so nice, clear, correct and legible a volume of 
manuscript as that which contains the land titles of Austin's colony, the 
work of his pen." Judge James H. Bell says also: " Williams was, of all 
men, best qualified for this position. His labors in the extension of titles 
to lands, and in a variety of services, were immense, and justly entitle him 
to honorable remembrance." 

He formed a partnership with Thomas F. M'Kinney, and during the 
financial difficulties of the Eevolutionary period the firm of M'Kinney & 
Williams transacted nearly all the business of the Government, and frequently 
advanced money to meet the necessities of the Public Treasury. This firm, 
in 1837, transferred their business from the mouth of the Brazos to Galves- 
ton, and were the first to open a regular commercial business on the 
island. 

On the 30th of April, 1835, Mr. Williams obtained from the Legislature of 
Coahuila a charter for a bank, in the Department of the Brazos; the charter 
to run twenty years. By an Act of Congress, of February 3d, 1841, the 
Congress of Texas fully recognized the validity of Williams' bank charter, 
and authorized the firm of M'Kinney & Williams to issue $30,000 in paper, 
to circulate as money. Mr. Williams opened his bank in Galveston, in 1846. 
He was the first and only President of " The Commercial and Agricultural 
Bank of Galveston." After his death, which occurred iu 1858, the affairs 
of the bank went, we believe, into liquidation. 

Williamson, Robert M. (Three-legged Willie).— J^ native of Georgia ; 
in early life afflicted with a white swelUng, which stiffened one of his 
knees; came to Texas in 1827, and located at San Felipe in the practice of 
law ; was Alcade in 1834 ; in 1835 commanded a company in a campaign 
against the Indians, and was one of the Committee of Safety at Bastro^i), 
where he then lived ; was in the General Consultation the same year. In 
1836, he was District Judge ; in 1840, entered the Texas Congress and was 
re-elected to represent Washington county until annexation ; and for several 
years represented the same county in the State Senate after annexation. 

Of all the popular leaders during the period of the Texas Revolution, 
none wielded a more potential influence than R. M. Williamson. He deserves 
a more extended notice, and we copy some of the closing paragraphs of a 
sketch of his life which appeared in the Texas Almanac for 1861: 



032 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

"Although his opportunities for acquiring wealth and independence were 
unequaled bv those of anv other man, yet was he of such generous and im- 
provident nature, that he was often embarrassed in his pecuniary affairs. 
Like Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Monroe, and many other greater men, he not 
unfrequently felt the iron pressure of ' Res ancjmta doviL' 

"It may be stated as creditable to his integrity, that in the midst of corrup- 
tion and speculation he lived and died in poverty. 

" In 1857, he had a severe attack of sickness, which seriously affected Ins 
hitellcct. The death of his wife, a daughter of Colonel Edwards, of Wharton 
county, occurred shortly afterwards. From these combined shocks, his 
mind never entirely recovered until the time of his death, which transpired 
peacefullv and calmly on the 22d December, 18^:9, in Wharton county. 

" We liave thus traced rapidly and imperfectly a few of the leading events 
in the life of this distinguished patriot. It has been done under unfavorable 
circumstances, and without pretense to absolute certainty as to dates, etc 
Yet in no instance have the -value of his services been magnified knowingly.. 
His character deserves a higher and more extended notice. 

" He was in many respects a remarkable man. He possessed a wonderful 
hold upon the affections of the masses, over whose passions and sympathies 
his control was unbounded. The reckless daring of his own character 
contributed "largely to this influence This, aided by a generous, unselfish 
spirit, and captivating manners, made him, wherever known, the idol of the 

people. , • -I 

" Inaccessible to threats or bribes, he was an upright and honest judge, 
who unflinchingly administered the law. In Congress and the Legislature 
he had no selfish purpose to subserve ; he was therefore the able and wat(;hful 
guardian of the people's rights. 

" His intercourse with his brethren of the bar was marked with great 
courtesy. Towards the younger members, he ever extended a helping 
hand, and breathed a kind word of encouragement. The writer is but one 
of hundreds who remember gratefully the kindness extended to them in 
davs long past, by Judge Williamson. .,,.,. e 

" The eloquence of Judge Williamson more nearly resembled that ot 
John Randolph than of any other historical character. 

" When fully aroused, there was a fire and vigor in his speech that sur- 
pass all description. True, there was a quaintness and eccentricity, but it 
was all stamped with the originality and power of genius. 

" He was not only a wit of the first class, but a humorist also ; and like 
all o-reat humorists," hC bore a burden of melancholy which was only bright- 
ened by these sudden sallies, as the storm clouds are illumined by the sheet- 
lightning. In an appeal to the people, and as an Mvocate before a jury, he 
was unsurpassed. 

"We are of those who believe that Mife is not without its purposes.' 
■ For example, admonition, encouragement, or reproof, the lives of our 
predecessors are most eloquent. We do not present the subject of this 
sketch as free from blemish. Far from it-he was mortal ami therefore 
fallible. He had one fault, and a most grievous one it was. One ot the 
fears of the brave and folUes of the wise.' This might well and properly be 



i» 




RUINS OF LAFITTE'S FORT. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 635 

ascribed to the ' temper of the times ' in which a large portion of his life 
was spent— the wild and disorderly state of society then existing. 

" The fate of onr distinguished men have been most deplorable— Collings- 
worth, Grayson, Rusk and Jones died by their own hands. May I suppli- 
cate for Robert M. Williamson (who, if he was a great sinner, was also 
a great sufferer) the kind charity of all Christians, and close this article by 
the following lines from the Light-House, which no voice sang so sweetly 
as his own : 

" ' In life's closing hour when the trembling soul flies, 
And death stills the heart's last emotion, 
Oh 1 then may the seraph of mercy arise, 
Like a star on eternity's ocean.' " 

Wilson, James C— Was a native of England; came to Texas in 1837; 
was one of the Mier prisonors, in 1812-43, refused to claim British protec- 
tion, even to secure his liberation; said he was a Texan; finally made his 
escape. In 1844, was Clerk of the District Court of Brazoria county; in 
1856, Commissioner of the Court of Claims ; was afterwards sent to the 
Senate from the Matagoi'da District. At the end of his term, renounced 
politics and entered the itinerant ministry in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South; died at Gonzales in 1861. 

Wilson, Robert, (Honest Bob) . — Come to Texas in 1828 ; was at the 
capiture of San Antonio, in 1835 ; represented Harris county two terms in 
the Senate of the Republic, and died in Houston, in 1856. 

Wood, George T.— Was a native of Georgia; came to Texas in 1836; 
was for several terms a member of the Texas Congress, and elected Briga- 
dier General of the militia ; in 1846, i-aised a regiment for the Mexican War, 
and served with distinction ; after his term expired, he returned home and 
was elected to the State Senate. Was elected Governor in 1847, and at the 
close of his term, retired to private life. Died in Panola county, in 1856. 

Yoakum, Henderson — The historian of Texas, was a native of Tennessee; 
graduated at West Point in 1832 ; resigned his commission and studied law; 
served one term in the State Senate of Tennessee ; came to Texas in 1845 ; 
was in the Mexican war as a lieutenant. For a number of years he was 
engaged in preparing a most elaborate history of Texas, which was pub- 
lished in two large vokimes, by Redfield, in 1856. He was a resident" of 
Iluutsville, and trustee of both the colleges located at that place. He died 
while on a visit to Houston, in 1856. 

Young, William C. — Was a member of the Annexation Convention in 
1845 ; in 1861, raised a company and captured a number of the United States 
forts in the Indian Territory. He and liis brother, James Young, were way- 
laid and shot in 1862, 

Zapata, Antonio — A Mexican Republican patriot in Jordan's expedition. 

35 



636 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

He was ever faithful to Republican principles, and was especially obnox- 
ious to the Centralist party, by whom he was finally captured, beheaded, 
and his head stuck on a pole near the old Stone Ranche on the Rio Grande. 

Zavalla, Lorenzo -De — Vice-President of Texas during the government 
ad interim; was a native of Merida, Yucatan; born in 1781. His autobio- 
graphy contains the following sketch. It was written in answer to a publi- 
cation, charging him with being " a vagabond, libertine, and a wicked 
man." This charge was brought by Tornel, Santa Anna's Minister of War, 
in justification of the order fbr his arrest: 

*'I am now forty-one years old. I was at school till I was nineteen. 
Afterward I was elected Secretary of the City Council of Merida, which post 
I filled until 1812, 1813, and until July, 1814, when I was imprisoned at San 
Juan de Ulloa, as a Liberal, till 1817. During the latter part of this year 
and the Ibllowing ones of 1818 and 1819, I was a physician in Merida, and 
maintained my good reputation until I was elected, in 1820 and 1821, Deputy 
to the Cortes of Spain. There I did what I could, and was the .colleague of 
Pedrazo. In February, 1822, 1 was elected Deputy to the Congress of Mexico, 
and continued in that post dui-ing 1823' and 1824 ; and afterward Senator, in 
1825 and 1826. In March, 1827, I was Governor of the State of Mexico till 
1830, when the revolution of Jalapa forced me to leave the Republic. In 
1829, I was also Minister of Finance till October. I have also held other 
positions of trust, as Secretary of the Provincial Assembly of Yucatan, in 
1820, before my election as Deputy ; twice a member of the Junta of Elect- 
oral Censors of Mexico ; and, lastly, I might have placed myself at the head 
of the party which to-day rules Mexico, and I would not. 

" Is a man, I would ask, who has invited these trusts from his fellow cit- 
izens, a vagrant and a wicked man? I have been President of the General 
Congress, and my name stands first in the Constitution of Mexico. I have 
been President of the Senate, and to-day I am a colonist of the Province of 
Texas." 

In 1833, he was again elected to Congress, and also Governor of the State 
of Mexico — the House of Deputies passing, by a unanimous vote, a resolu- 
tion p)ermitting him to hold both offices. He was appointed Minister to 
France in 1834, which post he resigned in 1835, to carry out his long-cher- 
ished desii'e to establish a home in Texas. 

In Santa Anna's letter to Cos, ordering the ai*rest of Zavalla, he writes : 
"I give this supreme order, requiring you to provide and bring into action 
all your ingenuity and activity in arranging energetic plans for success in 
the apprehension of Lorenzo Zavalla, which person, in the actual circum- 
stances of Texas, must be very pernicious. Spare no means to secure his 
pei'son and place it at the discretion of the supreme government." 

The Texans hailed with jay the arrival of such a distinguished representa- 
tive of Mexican Republicanism, and his advice was eagerly sought. In an 
address at a public meeting at Harrisburg he thus explains his views : " That 
Coahuila and Texas form a State of the Republic, and as one part of it is 
occupied by an invading force, the free part of it should proceed to organ- 
ize a power which should I'estore harmony and establish uniformity in all 



BIOGEAPHICAL NOTICES. 637 

Tjranches of the public administration, which would be a rallying point for 
citizens whose hearts now tremble for liberty. But as this power can only 
be organized by means of a Convention which should represent the free will 
of the citizens of Texas, it is my opinion that this step should be taken, and 
I suggest the loth of October as a time sufficient to allow all the depart- 
ments to send their representatives," Zavalla was one of the delegates from 
Harris county in the Consultation, in 1835, and in the Convention the fol- 
lowing year. At the organization of the government ad interim, he was 
elected Vices-President. "When the treaty was entered into with Santa Anna, 
at Velasco, it was expected Colonel Zavalla would go as one of the Texas 
representatives to Mexico, to conclude the final arrangements for peace be- 
tween the two counti'ies, but the forcible detention of Santa Auna in Texas 
intei-fered with the arrangement, and Zavalla, in feeble health, retired to 
his home near Lynchburg, where he died, November 15th, 1836. 



Part IX. 
The Counties of Texas. 



COUNTIES OF TEXAS. 



1. Anderson — lies in latitude 32, between the Trinity and Neches 
rivers. Bounded on the north by Henderson, east by Cherokee, south 
by Houston, and west by Freestone. It was originally in Burnet's 
colony, but belonged to Houston county until 1846, when it was formed into 
a separate county and named for Vice-President Kenneth L. Anderson. 
Fort Houston, two miles southwest of Palestine, the county-seat, was occu- 
pied as a military post, by Captain Jewell's company, in 1835. Palestine is 
a thriving city, situated on the International railroad, 152 miles from Hous- 
ton ; 91 miles from Hearne, and 81 from Longview. In 1870 the county had 
a population of 9,229 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,760,000. The 
soil is of four kinds: the first a light, sandy soil, easy of cultivation; the 
second a red, sandy land, very strong and enduring; the third a dark grey 
and covered with hickory, oak, etc ; the fourth is creek and river bottom, 
exceedingly rich. The county is well-watered. Extensive pine forests are 
found in the eastern part, while oaks of different varieties, hickory, pecan, 
walnut, ash, elm, etc., may be found in other portions. All the ordinary 
products of the farm, garden and nursery are produced in the greatest 
abundance. A mineral ridge runs through the center of the county, in 
which an abundance of iron ore may be found. Two furnaces wei'e in suc- 
cessful operation during the Civil War. 

2. Angelina. — Lies between the Neches and Angelina rivers, and derives 
its name from the latter. Bounded on the north by (Jherokee and Nacog- 
doches, east by Nacogdoches and San Augustine, south by Tyler, and 
west by Trinity and Houston. Homer is the county seat. This county 
lies on the route of travel of Governor Cordero, in 1806. In 1830, Gen. 
Mier y Teran visited Texas and laid out a town named for himself, on the 
Neches river, to which four leagues of land were given. He left Col. 
Bean in command. It was under the jurisdiction of Nacogdoches until 
1846, when the county was created. The soil in the bottoms is black, 
sandy and very productive. A considerable portion of the uplands is also 
rich. The county is heavily timbered with pine, oak, beach, magnolia, 
hickory, sugar maple, ash, mulberry, etc. It is on tlipline of the E. & W. 
N. G. Road. Homer is 160 miles from Houston and 126 from Shreveport. 
Population in 1870, 3,985 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $359,318. 

3. Aransas. — A sparsely populated county lying on the Gulf of 
Mexico. Bounded north by Refugio, east by Espiritu Santo Bay, south 



642 HISTORY OF TEXAS 

by the Gulf of Mexico, and west by San Patricio. It derives its name 
from the river of the same name. It is said that Arauzas is one of the 
names of a palace of the King of Spain. Rockport, the county seat, was 
selected as a shipping point for cattle and for putting up beef in 1866. The 
county was created in 1871. 

4. Atascosa. — Was created from Bexar in 1856; named for the Atas- 
cosa creek. Pleasanton is the county seat, thirty miles south of San 
Antonio. Bounded on the north by Bexar, east by Wilson and 
Karnes, south by Live Oak and M'Mullen, and west by Frio and Medina. 
The Navarros, Salinas and others, established stock ranches in this county 
early in the present century, but during the revolution these ranches were 
broken up, and no permanent settlements were made until about 1853. It 
is mostly prairie, and admirably, adapted to stock-raising, especially hogs 
and sheep. A considerable portion of the land is suitable for cultivation, 
and there are fine farms on the Atascosa, the Borego, the San Miguel, 
and other creeks. In 1870 the population was 2,915; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $825,428. 

6. Austin. — Lies on the west side of the Brazos river, about fifty miles 
from the city of Houston. It is bounded on the north by Washington, east 
by Waller, south by Fort Bend, and west by Colorado and Fayette. It 
was in the heart of Austin's first colony, and settled in 1822, by some of the 
first of his colonists. Among the early settlers wei'e Wm. Robbins, Wm. 
Prather, George and Wm. Hufi", John M'Farland, Wm. Petus, Wiley Mar- 
tin, the Allcorns, Shipmans, Bordens, James Cochran, etc. The town of 
San Felipe was laid out in 1824 by Baron De Bastrop, and received four 
leagues of land. It was the capital of the colony until the period of the 
revolution in Texas ; the headquarters of tlie land business and the resi- 
dence of the land commissioner and Samuel M. Williams, the clerk. It 
was the first Alcalde's district in the colony. In 1822 Josiah H. Bell was 
Alcalde ; he was succeeded in 1829 by Thomas Barnet and Thomas M. 
Duke; 1831, F. W. Johnson; 1832, Horatio Chriesman ; 1833, Luke Lassas- 
sier; 1834, Robert M. Williamson. 

In 1834, James B. Miller was political chief of the department of the 
Brazos. During this year occurred the first public execution in the colony: 
a man by the name of Clayton was hung in San Felipe for the murder of 
Abner Kuykendall. The Labor settlement was twelve miles above the town. 
There lived the Castleman ftimily and others. It was on a creek then called 
Palmetto Creek ; but Mr. Cummings built a mill near where Milheim now 
stands, and the name of the stream was changed to Mill Creek. 

The Convention met in San Felipe, in 1833, and the General Consultation 
in 1835. On the 30th of March, 1836, the town was burned by the retreat- 
ing Texas army undai- Houston, said to have been done by a misapprehen- 
sion of the general's orders. After the revolution, Thomas Barnet was the 
first chief justice of the county. He was succeeded by Ed^viu Waller, who 
held the ofiice for many years. In 1842, the county seat was removed to 
Bellville, named for Thomas Bell, an old settler. The county was named 
for Stephen P. Austin. 




COURT HOUSE. PARIS. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 645 

Dm-ing the colonial period a number of enterprising Germans settled in 
the county, and a considerable portion of the inhabitants speak that lan- 
guage. The assessed value of property in 1876 was $2,362,385. 

6. Bandera. — Bandera, the county seat is on the Medina Kiver, tliirty- 
five miles northwest of San Antonio. Bounded on the north by Kerr, east 
by Kendall and Bexar, south by Medina and Uvalde, and west by Edwards. 
It derives its name from a mountain pass. A large Apache village formoi iy 
occupied the site of the present town of Bandera. The county has several 
creeks: Pipe, Red Bluflf, Winding's, etc. ; is pretty well timbered, having 
some tine cedar brakes, and plenty of building stone. Assessed value of 
property in 1876, $236,536. It is a fine county for sheep. 

7. Bastrop— Lies on Doth sides of the Colorado Eiver. Bounded on 
the north by Travis, east by Lee, south by Fayette, and west by Caldwell. 
A settlement, near the present town of Bastrop, was formed in 1828, and 
then called Mina, from General Xavier Mina. The town of Bastrop was 
laid out by Stephen F. Austin in 1830, and named in honor of Baron de 
Bastrop. Four leagues of valuable laud was assigned to the town tract. 
The land title issued June 8th, 1832. Samuel Wolfenbarger was first Al- 
calde. In 1835, this municipality was the first to organize a committee of 
safety. Andrew Rabb was first chief justice after the revolution. The 
valley lands are exceedingly fertile, and most of the uplands are susceptible 
of cultivation. McDade, on the Western Branch road, is 128 miles from 
Houston and 37 from Austin. Elgin and Paige are railroad depots on the 
Western Branch road. In 1870 the population of the county was 12,200. 
Assessed value of property in 1876, $2,514,479. Few counties are superior 
to this in the State. The land is rich and the population permanent and 
prosperous. 

8. Bee — Situated in the stock-raising portion of the Southwest. 
Created in 1857 ; named in hon«r of Bernard E. Bee, Sr. ; Beeville is the 
county seat. It is bounded on the north by Karnes, east by Goliad, south 
by Refugio, and west by Live Oak. Its water courses are the Mission and 
Aransas rivers, and a number of smaller creeks. Population in 1870, 1.082 ; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $625,922. Its principal trading point is 
Corpus Christi. 50 miles distant. The streams are the Aransas, the Blanco, the 
Medio, the Papelota, and thcChiUcpin, all small and with very little timber. 
Bee is almost exclusively a stock-raising county, and the business of nearly 
all is to raise cattle and sheep. These do very well, and are raised at scarcely 
any expense. 

9 Bell— Lies in the very heart of the State ; mostly rolling prairies ; 
soil very productive; its staples are wheat, corn, cotton, etc. Bounded on 
the north by Coryell and McLennan, east by Falls, south by Milam and 
Williamson, and west by Burnet and Lampasas. Was created in 1850, and 
named for P. Hansborough Bell. Belton is the county seat. The county is 
well watered. The Leon, Lampasas and Nolan's Creek, unite near Belton 
and form Little river. Eleven miles from Belton is the Salado spring, one of the 



646 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

boldest and most remarkable in Texas. This county was included in Robert- 
son's colony, and attempts were made in 1834-5 to form settlements, by the 
families of Read, Fulcher, Early, Childress, and others; but the Indians 
were troublesome, and the settlement was abandoned until 1844, when popu- 
lation began to flow into the country. Belton became the county seat in 1851- 
Population in 1870, 9,791; assessed value of property in 1876, $3,102,800. 

10.. Bexar — Is by far the wealthiest and most populous county in western 
Texas; bounded on the north by Kendall and Comal, east by Guadalupe 
and AVilson, south by Wilson and Atascosa, and west by Medina. San An- 
tonio, the county seat^ is in the valley of the river of the same name, a few 
miles below where the spring flows out from under the rocks, a full sized 
river, one of the most picturesque and beautiful in the world. Adventurers 
settled on this river about the year 1692. In 1730, sixteen families arrived 
in the neighborhood from the Canary Islands. The presidio of Bexar, 
named for the Duke of Bexar, then viceroy of Mexico, was created Novem 
ber 28, 1730. Among the objects of great curiosity in San Antonio are the 
old mission churches, founded in the early part of the last century , for the 
benefit of the Indians. The Alamo — Poplar church — was founded May 8th 
1744; it was not long used as a church, but is famous in Texas history. It 
is in the heart of the city, on the east side of the river, and gives name tO' 
the plaza upon which it stands. Concepcioii is two miles below the cit}', on 
the left bank of the river; celebi-ated as the point at which the first battle, 
of the Texas revolution was fought in 1835. It is in a tolerably good state 
of preservation, and religious worship is occasionally celebrated at its altar. 
San Jose, four miles below the city on the right bank of the river, was one 
of the grandest of all the mission structures in Texas. Though rapidly 
going to ruins, some of its splendid statuary is still visible in its walls and 
niches, though the arched roof and dome have fallen in. San Juan, is six 
miles below the city on the left bank of the river ; it is in ruins. La Espa- 
da is on the west side of the river, nine miles below the city ; portions of 
the walls are still standing. San Fernancfes, was a parish church, built for 
the colonists from the Canary Islands, in 1732. It is on the Military plaza in 
the city, and was re-built in 18G8, as a cathedral. The dome of the old 
church was left standing, and forms the sacristy of the new one. 

In 1730, San Antonio became the capital of the province of Texas, and 
continued to be the principal city until the revolution of 1835. It is the 
centre of a large trade with Western Texas and Northern IMexico. In 1877 
the city was connected by rail with the railway system of the State. And 
since that time, there has been a large increase in its business and popula- 
tion. In 1870 the population of the county was 16,053. lu 1876, the pop- 
ulation of the city was 17,314. Assessed value of property, about $10,000,000. 
The city is the headquarters of the Fifth Military District, and the govern- 
ment has recently erected a building for the Quartermasters' Department at 
a cost of $100,000. There is also an arsenal and some other public build- 
ings. 

The following shows the export business of San Antonio for the year 
ending June 1st, 1878: Hides, 2,902,756 pounds; wool, 1,950,855 pounds; 



COU:f^TY SKETCHES. 647 

merchandise, 5,272,225 pounds; cotton, 1,495 bales; live stock, 268 cars; 
bones, 144 cars. From February 25th to July 25th, 1878 — during the very 
dullest portion of the year — 199 houses were built. San Antonio has a 
street railroad, water-works, and is lighted with gas. 

11. Blanco. — Created in 1858; named for one of its principal streams; 
settled in 1852. Bounded on the north by Llano and Burnet, east by Travis 
and Hays, south by Comal and Kendall, and west by Gillespie and Llano. 
This is a stock-raising prairie county, though there is some timber; and 
a great deal of rich, arable land. All the cereals do well. Its principal 
water courses are the Blanco and the Pierdinales rivers. Blanco, the 
county-seat, is sixtj'' miles from San Antonio, forty from New Brauufels,^ 
and fifty from Austin. In 1870, the county had a population of 1,187. 
Assessed value of property about $400,000. 

12. Bosque. — Created in 1854; named from its principal river. Bounded 
on the north by Somervell, east by Hill, south by M'Lennan and Coryell, 
and west by Hamilton. Meridian is the county-seat. The valley lands of 
the Brazos river and the Bosque are very rich and productive ; the up- 
lands somewhat hilly, but fine for grazing purposes. Population in 1870, 
4,981 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,338 JOS. 

13. Bowie. — Named for James Bowie; was created in 1840. It is the 
extreme north-eastern county of the State ; bounded on the north by the 
Indian Territory, east by the State of Arkansas, south by Cass county, and 
west by Eed river. The trans-continental railway, commencing at Texar- 
kana, traverses the entire length of the county. In 1870, the population 
was 4,684. In 1876, the assessed value of property was $948,976. Boston 
is the county-seat. It is well watered by Red river on the north, and a 
fork of the same river running along on its southern boundary, as well as 
by a number of smaller streams tributary to these. The surface of this 
county is rolling ; a large proportion of which is heavily timbered, chiefly 
with post oak. The soil, away from the bottoms, is of a sandy character, 
usual in post oak lands. In the bottoms it is the rich red land so well 
adapted to the cultivation of cotton. Pears, Peaches and other fruits are 
successfully cultivated, and the apple is found in great abundance. 

14. Brazoria. — Lies on the Gulf of Mexico, and includes the coast on 
both sides of the Brazos and Bernard rivers, and Oyster Creek. Bounded 
on the north by Fort Bend, east by Harris, south by the Gulf, and west bv 
Matagorda. It contains one of the richest bodies of land on the continent. 
Its staples are sugar— of which it produces more than all the other counties 
in the State — cotton, corn, tobacco, etc., etc. The Brazos is connected 
by a canal with Galveston bay, and a railroad fifty miles long connects 
Columbia with Houston. The county is about equally divided between 
timber and prairie, and is adapted to either agriculture or stock-raising. 
The county was settled in 1823 by Josiah II. Bell, Brit. Bailey, Joseph H. 
Polly, Primm, Bradleys, Amos and Daniel Rawls, Damon; and a little 



648 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

later, by David Tilley, James and John T. Beard, Thomas Westall, T. J. 
Pilgrim, the Fenns, Shipmans, John D. Pitts, John Brown Austin, W. D. 
C. Hall, the Alsburys, Millburn, Mrs. General Long, and MajorCalvitt, 
etc., etc. John Austin settled at the town of Brazoria in 1828; the town 
•was laid out in 1831, and about that time Mr. Perry, the brother-in-law of 
S. F. Austin, an-ived in the county, and settled at Peach Point. They had 
for neighboi's, the M'Neils, Millses, Hawkins, Munsons, etc. In 1831 there 
were about thirty houses in the town, three of them being "of brick. On 
the first of May, 1832, Decree Number 196 created the municipality of Bra- 
zoria, extending four leagues above the mouth of Big Creek, and westward 
to the Trespelacios. First John Austin, and afterwards Edwin Waller were 
Alcaldes. In 1834 the name was changed to Columbia, but was the next 
year changed back to Brazoria. In 1836, first Yelasco and afterwards Co- 
lumbia, were occupied by President Burnet as the seat of government. 
The Constitutional Government of the Kepublic was inaugurated at the 
latter place. Brazoria was then the most wealthy and populous municipal- 
ity in Texas, and the place of residence of a large number of the leading 
citizens of the Republic. Its population in 1870 was 7,527, a majority of 
whom were colored. Assessed value of property in 1876, $1,964,778. Be- 
sides the Brazos and Bernard rivers, there is little living water, and on 
account of the brackish and unwholesome character of the water, cisterns 
are largelj'' used. The surface is level, about one-half of it being covered 
with a heavy growth of, perhaps, the noblest live oaks in the whole Union. 
It is from these bottoms that the Navy of tin United States is hereafter to 
dei'ive its most valuable ship-building material, the value of which is incal- 
culable. The soil, as may be supposed, is exceedingly rich, red and deep, 
yielding luxuriantly. Peaches, quinces, oranges, lemons, and similar fruits 
ai'e cultivated. Upon the coast the health is good ; higher up and along 
the bottoms, chills and fever are prevalent at certain seasons, but generally 
the people enjoy excellent health. 

15. Brazos. — Named for the river of the same name. Brvan, on the 
Houston & Texas Central Railroad, one hundred miles from Houston, is 
the county-seat. Bounded noi-th by Robertson and Madison, east by 
Grimes, south by Washington, and west by Burleson. It is in the heart of 
the cotton region ; the land is exceedingly fertile, and being on the railroad, is 
rapidly filling up with an agricultural population. The Agricultural and 
Mechanical College of the State is located four miles south of Bryan. Pop, 
ulation of the county in 1870,9,205; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$2,330,779; the county was created in 1841; surface undulating; about an 
equal portion of prairie and timber. 

16. BuowN. — Named for Henry S. Brown; created in 1856. Bounded 
north by Callahan and Eastland, east by Comanche and Hamilton, south by 
Lampasas and San Saba, and west by Coleman, Brownwood, the countj^- 
seat, is one hundred and ten miles from AVaco, one hundred and thirty from 
Fort AVorth, one hundred and forty from Austin, and one hundred and 
sixty from Dallas, This is in the wheat and stock region ; is well watered, 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 649 

having- the Colorado river on the south, and Pecan bayou, Jim Ned creek 
and numerous smaller streams. The valley lands are rich. Tortious of 
the county are hilly, but well set with grass. Bituminous coal is found in 
paying quantities. It is a newly settled county. The population in 1870 
was only 544. In 1876, the assessed value of property was $619,774. 

17. Burleson.— Created in 1846; named for Edward Burleson. Caldwell, 
the county-seat, is about twenty miles from Bryan, and thirty from Bren- 
ham. Bounded north by Milam, east by Brazos, south by Washington, and 
west by Lee. The southern portion of the county was in Austin's first 
colony; that portion above the old San Antonio road, in Eobertson's. In 
1825, the families of Pancas, Earlys, etc., settled on the old road. In 1830, 
the Thomsons, Porters, Scotts, Shaw, etc., became permanent settlers. The 
county, lying on the Brazos river, and the Yegua and Davidson's creeks, is 
well watered and timbered, and has an immense body of rich land. It is 
both an agricultural and stock-raising country, and produces sugar, cotton, 
and wheat. Population in 1870, 8,072 ; assessed value of property in 1876^ 
$934,782. Tenoxticlan, and old Mexican town, was in this county. 

18. Burnet.— Created in 1852; named for David G. Burnet; Burnet the 
county seat. Bounded north by Lampasas, east by Williamson and Bell, 
south by Travis and Blanco, and west by Llano and San Saba. About 
one-fourth of the county, situated on the Colorado river and Hamilton 
and other creeks, is susceptible of cultivation; the hilly portions are 
well adapted to grazing- purposes; and are well supplied with an abun- 
dance of mountain cedar and other timber. Population in 1870, 3,658* 
assessed value of property in 1876, $1,114,577. The water is excel'lent for 
drinking purposes ; and along the river there are points at which the most 
valuable water-power can be obtained for manufacturing purposes. The 
surface is rolling, often mountainous. About oue-fourth of the countv is 
timbered with live oak, post oak, elm and cedar. The soil is the common 
red prairie i^il. 

19. Caldwell.— Created in 1848 ; named for Matthew Caldwell ; Lock- 
hart is the county seat, situated near the head of Plum creek, and is'abund- 
antly supplied with spring water. The country is gently undulatino-; soil 
generally rich ; well watered and timbered. Lockhart is thirty miles from 
Austin ; Luling, on the Sunset Route, is 155 miles i^-om Houston and fifty 
miles from San Antonio. About seven miles from Luling are two mineral 
springs, Cardwell's and Burdits, to which invalids resort. The county is 
bounded north by Hays and Travis, east by Bastrop, south by Gonzales 
and west by Guadalupe. Population in 1870, 6,672; assessed value of 
property in 1877, $1,528,007. The league of land upon which the county 
seat is located, wasgrauted toByrd Lockhart by Jose Antonio Nevarro in 
November, 1831. The surfjicc of this county is undulating, about one-third 
covered with post oak, live oak and cedar. The soil is dark prairie loam 
mtermixed with sand. There is a great deal of prairie known as '' hoff 
wallow " — rich and waxy. 



650 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

20. Calhouk. — Created in 1846; named for John C. Calhoun; Indianola 
is the county seat. Bounded on the north by Victoria and Jackson, east 
by Matagorda, south by the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Aransas and 
Refugio. It was at Pass Cavallo, in this county, that La Salle landed in 
1685. Settlements were made in the county as early as 1828. In 1835, 
Cox's Point, opposite to Lavaca on the bay, became a place of business. 
Linnville, four miles above Lavaca, became a shipping point in 1839; and 
was burned by the Comanches in 1840 ; after which Lavaca became the 
in-incipal port. Indianola was founded a few years later, and soon became 
the principal seaport. It has a railroad to Quero, in Dewitt county. Pop- 
ulation in 1870, 3,443; assessed value of property in 1876, $542,372. It is. 
surrounded east; sonth and west, by water. Green Lake lies within it. 
Powder Horn Bay and Chocolate Bayou penetrate into it on the south. 
The surface is a dead level, -aj-ud one-tifth part being sprinkled with 
scrubby live oak. The soil is of flat, sandy earth, not very productive ; but 
£ne for grazing purposes. 

21. Callahan. — Created 1858; named for James M. Callahan ; organized 
in 1877; Bell Plain is the county seat; bounded north by Shackleford, east 
by Eastland, south by Coleman and west by Taylor. The county is about 
equally divided between prairie and timber ; is a tine grazing county, with 
a fair proportion of good arable laud. It is situated upon the waters of the 
Clear Fork of Brazos, Hubbard's ci'eek and Pecan bayou, west of Eastland 
and north of Brown and Coleman counties. The East and West Caddo 
Peaks, prominent land marks, are in the south-eastern corner of the county. 
The Clear Fork of Brazos flows through the north-western corner ; Pecan 
bayou, Jim Ned creek and their tributaries, drain the south-western part of 
the county; and the two prongs of Hubbard's creek, with their branches, 
the balance. There is an abundance of good timber and pure water in all 
parts of the county, and the soil is rich, particularly in the valleys. Several 
good military roads traverse the county from east to west, and north and 
south. , 

22. Cameron. — Named for Ewin Cameron; created in 1848; Browns- 
ville is the county seat. It is bounded north by Nueces, east by the Gulf of 
Mexico, south by the Rio Grande, separating it from Mexico, and west by 
Hidalgo. Brownsville is connected by a railroad with Brazos St. Jago. It 
is 160 miles from Corpus Christi; 300 from San Antonio, and 340 from Gal- 
veston, with which it has regular communication by stetimers. Befoi-e the 
revolution, this territory belonged to the State of Tamaulipas, and Mexican 
stock ranches were established early in the present century. In 1820, Father 
Bolli, to avoid the raids of hostile parties, took a large stock of cattle to 
Padre Island. But the same year a severe storm swept over the island, 
destroying the stock, and also the village of Brazos St. Jago. Brownsville 
was settled by Americans in 1848. During the civil war, 1861-4, it was a 
place of considerable trade, until it was occupied by the Federal army 
under General Banks, in 1864. The establishment of a free belt on the 
Mexican side of the river has greatly impaired the commercial interests of 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 6ol 

the city, aud the frequent raids for cattle stealing have diminished the stock 
in the range. In 1870 the population of the county was 10,999; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $1,610,562. ^ 

23. Camp. — Named for J. L. Camp; Pittsburg is the county seat; created 
in 1874:. It is the smallest county in the State, containing but one hundred 
and eighty-six square miles ; bounded north by Titus and Morris, east by 
Morris, south by Upshur, west by Wood. It is a timber country ; well 
watered, and possessing a rich soil. The Tyler and Clarksville railroad 
passes through the county. Assessed value of property in 1876, $504,648. 

24. Cass. — Created in 1846 ; named for Lewis Cass ; Linden is the county 
seat; bounded north by Bowie, east by Arkansas, south by Marion, and 
west by Morris. It is one of the timber counties of North-east Texas ; well 
watered, with a soil which produces fair average crops. The railroad from 
Marshall to Texarkana passes through the county; the depots are Atlanta, 
Queen City and Kildare. There are some interesting Indian mounds on 
the line of the East Line railroad. Population in 1870, 8,875 ; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $1,429,162 ; produces the greatest abundance of peaches, 
apples, etc. 

25. Chambers. — Is one of the pi-airie coast counties; created in 1858; 
named for Thomas J. Chambers; Wallisville is the county seat. It was 
included in Vehelin's colonial grant. In 1830, Anahuac, on the bay, became 
the principal port of entry, and the headquarters of Col. Bradburn, the 
military commandant. It was also the headquarters of the Galveston Bay 
Company, which purchased Burnet's and Zavalla's grants. N. D. Labadie 
was surgeon to the Mexican soldiers and afterwards to the Texans. At 
that early period, James Morgan, J. C. Keed, Wilcox and others, had 
goods for sale . There were in 1831 about thirty American citizens. Tlie 
lawyers, P. C. Jack, W. B. Travis, R. M. Williamson, Dr. Dunlap^ Muiu-oe 
Edwards, George M. Patrick, Samuel T. Allen and Taylor White lived on 
Turtle Bayou. About the first of May, 1832, a meeting was held (sa)'S 
Dr. Labadie in Almanac, 1859) at Captain Dorsatt's, at Avhich it was 
resolved to resist the payment of duties. This was the first movement 
against the Mexican government in Texas. A military organization Avas 
effected; P. C.Jack elected Captain. Soon afterward, Jack, Travis, Mun- 
roe Edwards and Allen were arrested and imprisoned. The citizens of 
Austin's colony rallied for the deliverance of their fellow citizens from the 
military prison, and during the controversy, Bradburn was disi)l;iced by 
Piedras, and the prisoners released. On the 13th of June, a meeting was 
lield at Turtle Bayou, at which the citizens pronounced in favor of the 
Constitution of 1824, and for Santa Anna, who was then the llepublicau 
leader. During the revolutionary period, Anahuac ceased to be a place of 
much importance. The county is bounded north by Liberty, east by Jef- 
ferson, south by Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Harris, 
Population in 1870, 1,503; assessed value of property in 1876, $374,297, 
This is chiefly a prairie county, and though it has much good alluvial land 



652 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

in the Trinity valley, yet stock-raising is the chief business. Hogs are also 
abundantly and cheaply raised in the bottoms. Products: corn, cotton, rice 
and sugar-cane. This county has the advantage of regular communication 
with Galveston by navigation over the bay and up the Trinity, so tliat its 
products can be easily placed in market at a good price. This county has 
abundance of fruits, such as peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums. It 
also lias a large supply of good timber on both banks of the Trinity, and 
supplies Galveston market with much of its fuel. This, like most other 
coast counties, possesses the advantage of being easily inclosed by water ou 
one or more sides of the farms and hedges on the other. 

26. Cherokee. — Created from Nacogdoches in 1846 ; named for an Indiaa 
tribe which occupied a portion of the country from 1822 until 1830. The 
original Telias village, which gave its name to the State, was in this county 
near the old San Antonio road, on the east side of the Neches river. It 
was known as the Bradshaw Place, or Mound prairie ; and was settled by 
the Allcorns and Teels in 1822. The Cherokee village was on the Angelina 
river. The town of Kusk, the county-seat, was settled in 1846, and laid 
out as a town the next year. The county is bounded north by Smith, east 
by Rusk and Nacogdoches, south by Angelina and Houston, and west by 
Anderson. The surface is undulating; about three-fourths timber; soil 
excellent. The International railroad passes through the county, and a 
branch road connects Rusk with Jacksonville, a station ou the main road. 
Population in 1870, 1,179; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,482,463. 
Well supplied with peaches, apples, and other fruits. 

27. Clay. — Created in 1857; named for Henry Clay. Henrietta is the 
county-seat. Bounded north by the Indian Territory, east by Montague, 
south by Jack, and west by Archer and Wichita. This is one of the north- 
ern counties, bordering upon Red river. It is well watered, and has a fair 
supply of timber on its water courses, Red river and the two Wichitas, and 
their numerous tributaries. Immense herds of cattle are pastured here 
before being driven to Northern markets. The county was settled iu 1868; 
in 1876 the assessed value of property was $455,276. 

28. Coleman. — Created iu 1858, and named for R. M. Coleman. Coleman 
was selected as the county-seat in 1876. It is bounded on the north by Cal- 
lahan, east by Brown, south by M'Culloch, and west by Runnels. The soil 
is good; country undulating; with some high points, of which the most 
conspicious is Santa Anna's Peak, eight miles from the county-seat. The 
Colorado river runs along its southern boundary, and Makewater and other 
creeks furnish an abundance of water for stock. A village of the Anada- 
quas was once located in the county, and Jim Ned creek bears the name of 
one of their famous chiefs. Camp Colorado has been for twenty years 
occasionally occupied by Rangers. Value of property in 1876, $125,761. 
Coleman is about one hundred and forty miles from Austin, and the same 
distance from Dallas aud Fort Worth. 




COURT HOUSE, SHERMAN, 



COUXTY SKETCHES. 655 

29. Collin. — Named for Collin M'Kinney, who settled in the county in 
1842; was created in 1846. M'Kinney is the county-seat. Bounded on the 
north by Grayson, east by Hunt, south by Dallas, and west by Denton. 
The east fork of the Trinity takes its rise in this county, and it is watered 
by numerous creeks; it is well timbered, and the soil is of a very superior 
quality. M'Kinney is on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad, two hun- 
dred and ninety-six miles north of Houston. Population in 1870,14,013; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $4,952,750. First settled in 1841, by Dr. 
William E. Throckmorton, who died in 1842. It is a fine county for 
fruits. 

30. Colorado. — One of the original counties; named for the river on 
which it stands. Columbus is the county-seat; selected in 1836 by Eli 
Mercer, Robert Brotherton, and William D. Lacy, commissioners appointed 
by the Executive Council at San Felipe. In 1821, a settlement was com- 
menced at the Atasca Sita crossing of the river, a little below the present 
town of Columbus. Among the early settlers were Leander Beeson, W. 
B. De wees, Ross Alley, AVilliam Alley, Thomas Bm-nes, Peter and John 
Tumlimson, etc. In 1822, James Cummiugs was appointed Alcalde. He 
declined to serve, and John Tumlimson was appointed. Among early set- 
tlers were F. Pettus, Levi Bostick, Hunt, John Matthews, Major 

Montgomery, David Cole, the Coopers, and others. In 1836 William Meni- 
fee was Chief Justice. The G. H. & S. A. R. R., passes through the 
county, crossing the river at Columbus. The county is iu the heart of the 
State and admirably adapted to agricultural pursuits or stock-raising ; well 
watered and timbered. Population in 1870, 8,326; assessed value of prop- 
erty in 1876, $2,696,424. 

31. Comal. — Created in 1848; named for the Comal river. New Braim- 
fels is the county-seat. The town was laid out and settled in 1845, by Ger- 
man immigrants, brought to the country by the Prince de Solms, to settle 
Fisher & Miller's colony. They found it impracticable, on account of the 
Indians, to proceed to the frontier, and the New Braunfels tract of land 
was bought as a temporary stopping-place; but became the home of a large 
and thrifty class of people. It is bounded north by Blanco, east by Hays, 
south by Guadalupe and Bexar, and west by Kendall. Population iu 1870, 
5,283; assessed value of property in 1875, $1,346,950. The Comal river 
rises from copious springs some three miles above the town, and immedi- 
ately becomes a deep stream of the purest water, iu which even fi-^h can 
readily be seen to the depth of ten or twelve feet. It is difficult to imagine 
a more beautiful stream. It empties into the Guadalupe at New Braunfels, 
and affords <jreat water-power for several mills and factories, and an exten- 
sive valley may be irrigated by it. It has forty feet fall iu a distance of 
three miles. One large cotton and woolen fiictory has been iu operation for 
several years, and the wafer-power is sufficient for many more. Two or 
three flouring and grist-mills, and machinery for other manufactories, are 
run by the same power, and no better plice can be found for a paper-mill, 
ou account of the great purity of the water. The Guadalupe is a much 

36 



656 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

largci* stream thau the Comal, and passes through the county; and there 
are several other smaller streams, all skirted with timber, such as black-oak, 
post-oak, walnut, hickory, pecan, elm, etc. ; but this is not generally good 
building material. The best building material is stone. All the products of 
the country are raised here. Peaches, grapes, and other fruits are grown, 
and some fine wine and table grapes are successfully cultivated. There are 
orchards of apples, pears, quinces, cherries, plums, etc. 

32. Comanche. — Named for an Indian tribe ; Comanche is the county- 
seat ; created in 1856. Bounded north-east by Erath, south-east by Hamil- 
ton, south-west by Brown, and north-west by Eastland. It is watered by 
the Leon river and its tributaries; bottom lands good; one-third timber, 
but not of the best quality. Population in 1S70, 1,001; assessed value, of 
property in 1876, $729,430. A tine stock-raising county. 

33. Cooke.— Created in 1848; named for Wilham G. Cooke; Gainsville 
is the county-seat. Bounded north by the Indian Territory, east by Gray- 
son, south by Denton, and west by Montague. It is well supplied with 
water; has an excellent soil; is a very i:!roductive and desirable county. 
Population in 1870,5,315; assessed value of property in 1876,61,565,363. 
Corn, wheat, barley, and all the cereals do well ; and upon Red river there 
are several cotton f>lantations. The soil is prolific, except on the eastern 
side of the county, through which run the cross-timbers. Timber is fine, 
consisting of post-oak, ash, pecan, walnut, hackberry and elm, the best 
building timber being post-oak. Red river forms the northern boundary of 
the county. Ehn Fork of the Trinity heads in the county, within a few 
miles of Red river, and riujs south through the centre of the county. Upou 
this stream is situated the town of Gainsville. Clear creek and Jordan 
creek run through the county, the former on the westex'u and the latter on 
the eastern side. These are fine streams, and their bottoms are both rich 
and well timbered. 

34. Coryell. — Created in 1854; named for James Coryell, (who was 
killed by Indians) . Gatesville is the county-seat. Bounded north-east by 
Bosque and M'Lennan, south-east by Bell, south-west by Lampasas, and 
north-west by Hamilton. It is "watered by the Leon and its tributaries; 
surface rolling ; one-third timber; soil in the valleys rich. Population in 
1870,4.124; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,343,675. Fine grazing 
county. 

35. Dallas — Lies in the heart of the wheat section of Texas ; was orig- 
inally in Peters' colony, bounded north by Denton and Collin, east by Rock- 
wall and Kaufman, south by Ellis and west by Tarrant. The first point 
occupied by whites in the county was Bird's Fort, about fifteen miles above 
the present town of Dallas. In 1843, Neely Bryan, Mr. Beeman and others 
settled the new town, which, in 1846, became county seat. It is on the 
Central Railroad, 250 miles north of Houston, and on the Texas Pacific 
Railroad, 189 miles west of Shreveport. It is also the southern terminus of 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 657 

the Dallas and Wichita Railroad, iio-^ in progress of construction. In 1872, 
"before railroads had reached Dallas, it had a population of about fifteen 
hundred. It noiv has as many thousand. It has a number of flouring- 
mills, two cotton compresses, street railroads. It is lighted with gas, and is 
well supplied with schools and "churches. Population of the county in 1870, 
13,314: ; assessed value of property in 187G, $8,065,525. The land is black, 
sticky i^raii-ie, liberally interspersed with timber, in sufficient quantities for 
all agricultural and manufacturing purposes. The soil is exceedingly fer- 
tile, and when well cultivated most abundantly rewards the husbandman 
for his labor. Dallas is im-reasiug in population more rapidly than any 
town in Northern Texas. Lancaster is a flourishing village, situated fifteen 
miles south of Dallas, and contains about five hundred inhabitants. Cedar 
Hill, Scyene, and Breckenridge are small villages, situated in the midst of 
an industrious and energetic population. T!ie people are industrious, moral, 
and religious, and take great interest in the establishment of good schools. 
The principal products of the county ai'e wheat, corn, oats, rye, and barley, 
each of which is raised in large quantities, and the yield per acre equals 
that of any section in the Union. At Lancaster there is a foundry, where 
all the castings required to repair mills, reapers, and thi-eshers are made 
promptly and on reasonable terms. At Dallas, Cedar Hill, and Lancaster 
are machine-shops, where reapers and threshers, and all other agricultural 
implements, are manufactured. 

36. Delta — A small county, created in 1871. It is between the forks of 
the Sulphur river, and derives its name from its shape. Bounded north by 
Lamar,, southeast by Hopkins, and west by Fannin and Hunt. Cooper is 
the county seat. It is a fine agricultural and fruit-growing county. As- 
sessed value of property in 1876, $565,484. 

37. Denton — Created from Fannin in 1846. Named for John B, Denton, 
who was killed by the Indians, on Denton creek, in 1843. Bounded north 
by Cooke, east by Collin, south by Dallas and Tarrant, and west by Wise. 
It produces in profusion all the cereals, cotton, fruits, &c. The county was 
settled in 1843-4 by Messrs. Medlin, Higgius, Holford, Wagoner, King, 
Eads, Miller, Gibson, Strickland, Carter, and others. Population in 1870, 
7,251. Watered by the Elm fork of the Trinity, Clear, Duck, Hickory, 
Denton, and other creeks. There is a great variety and ali qualities of soil ; 
in a portion of the county, the black, waxy, which is from two to six feet 
deep prevailing, while in the Cross Timbers section the soil is sandy and of 
various qualities, the best being a black sandy loam from one-half to two or 
three feet deep, the foundation being clay. The prairies west of the Cross 
Timbers have also a variety of soil, some being rich, black and waxy, with 
an undulating surface, while in other portions the soil is thin and rocky, the 
surface being broken and hilly. In the middle and western portions of the 
county, as fine lands as there are in the State are found in the creek valleys, 
^ portion being prairie. A good county for fruits, and for stock-raising. 

88. DeWitt— -Named for Green DeWitt, who, in 1825, obtained an em- 



658 HISTORY OF TEXAS, 

presario grant to plant a colony on the Guadalupe river , created from Gon- 
zales and Victoria in 1846. Clinton was county seat until 1877 In 1873, 
the Gulf, West Texas and Pacific Railroad reached Cuero, and m 1877 that 
became the county seat. Bounded north by Gonzales, east by Lavaca, south 
by Victoria and Goliad, and west by Karnes. Cuero is seventy miles from 
Indianola It is a fine agricultural and stock-raising county; well watered, 
and has immense bodies of rich lands. Population in 1870, 6,948, assessed 
value of property in 1876, $1,987,996. The Guadalupe river runs through 
the center of the county, and into it flows a number of smaller streams. 
The surface is undulating, and covered with a small growth of oak, elm and 
mulberry. The soil is sandy loam on the high laud8, and still richer in the 
bottoms, there being no poor land in the whole county, except along the 
post oak ridges. Health is good. 

39. Duval — Bounded north by McMullen, east by Nueces, south by Starr, 
and west bvEnignal. Named for the Duval family; organized in 1S75. It 
is one of the stock-raising counties. San Diego is the county seat. 

40. Eastland — Named for W. M. Eastland, one of the Mier prisoners, 
shot at Salado by order of Santa Anna. Created in 1858; Eastland the 
county seat. Bounded north by Stephens, east by Erath, south by Comanche, 
and west by Callahan. It is a new county in the stock-raising region, and 
is but sparsely populated. In 1876 the assessed value of property was 
$23,420. Eastland county is on the dividing i-idge between the waters of 
the Leon and those of Hubbard's creek. This divide consists of a succes- 
sion of bold, rocky hills, east of which the county is covered with a dense 
growth of post-oak, black-jack, and shin-oak timber, and is a fine country 
for hogs. On the west there are some fine fertile valleys, covered with mes- 
quite grass, and with good post-oak timber convenient. 

41. Ellis — Ci'eated from Navarro in 1849; named for Richard Ellis; 
Waxahachie is the county seat. In 1843, Captain Thomas I. Smith, with a 
company of Rangers, established a post on Richland creek, and a settlement 
was formed around it. The land is undulating, mostly rich prairie, with 
skirts of timber on the Trinity river and its numerous tributaries. The 
Central Railroad passes through the county. Ennis and Palmer are railroad 
towns, and there is a branch road projected to the county seat. The county 
is bounded north by Dallas, east by Kaufman, south by Navarro, and west 
by Hill and Johnson. Population in 1870,7,914; assessed value of prop- 
erty in 1876, $3,662,356. Rich, black, stiff and loamy, undulating, rolling 
prairie, finely adapted to the culture of all kinds of small grain, as well as 
cotton and corn, and affording a superior range for stock, constitutes a large 
portion of the county ; the only timber found being on the river and creek 
bottoms, which is ample for ordinary farm purposes, and consists of oak, 
cedar, ash, pecan, cottonwood, bois d'arc, &c. 

42. El Paso (the Pass). — Is next to Presidio, the lai-gest county in Texas, 
having an area of between 9,000 and 10,000 square miles. It is nearly seven 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 659 

liundred miles northwest from San Antonio, and has an eleyation of about 
3,750 feet above the sea level. Bounded north by New Mexico, east by 
Pecos and Presidio, south and west by New Mexico. It is in the mountain- 
ous and mineral region, though the valley lands are irrigable, and exceed- 
ingly productive. Isleta is the county seat. It is supposed the Rio Grande 
valley was visited by Marcus De Niza in 1537, and Coronado in 15-40 took 
possession of the Puebla village of Isleta. The same place was visited by 
Espejo in 1582, and permanently occupied by the Spaniards since 1595. In 
1627, a Spaniard named DeLeon obtained a grant to settle the valley on the 
Texas side of the Rio Grande, and constructed ditches for irrigation, which 
are still in use. In 1870 the population of the county was 3,761 ; assessed 
value of j)roperty in 1876, $398,110. Late reports give the village of El 
Paso a population of 700 ; Isleta, fifteen miles south, 1,500; San Ilezario, 
1,200, and Socorro 800. The population is principally Mexican. The county 
was organized in 1850 by Major R. S. Neighbors. Among its productions 
are the celebrated El Paso onions, and wine of a superior quality. 

In the fall of 1877 a serious diflSculty occurred, said to have been caused 
by the location and occupancy by private parties of salt lakes, which had 
been previously considered public property. Several parties lost their lives, 
and quiet was not fully restored until the arrival of United States troops 
under the command of General Hatch. 

43. Erath — Created from Bosque and Coryell in 1856 ; named for George 
B. Erath. Bounded north by Palo Pinto, east by Hood and Somervell, 
south by Bosque and Hamilton, and west by Comanche and Eastland. 
Stephensville is the county seat, and was named for Johu M. Stephens, on 
whose land it was located. The county has about equal quantities of prai- 
rie and timber ; uplands thin, but good for pasturage ; bottoms rich and pro- 
ductive; county has numerous creeks, flowing into the Bosque river. Ste- 
phensville is nearly 2,000 feet above the sea level, and is very healthy. The 
county seat was settled in 1855. It had been previously occupied by a 
friendly band of Caddo Indians. These became troublesome, and in 1860 
were driven off. Population in 1870, 1,801; assessed value of property in 
1877, $2,082,473. 

44. Falls.— Its name from a fall in the Brazos river ; created in 1850. Marlin, 
the county seat, named for a pioneer lamily. Bounded north by M'Leunan, 
east by Limestone, south by Robertson and Milam, and west by Bell. Set. 
tied in 1838. (For account of Indian troubles, see Indian fights, 1839.) 
The river and creek bottoms are very rich, and well timbered ; the uplands 
undulating prairies, arable and productive. Marlin is on the "Waco Tap 
Railroad, 160 miles from Houston, and 17 miles from Waco. Population of 
county, in 1870, 9,871 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,224,635 

45. Fannin. — Created from Nacogdoches in 1837 ; named for James W. 
Fannin; Bonham is the county seat, named for J. B. Bonham, one of (he 
victims of the Alamo. It is one of the rich Red river counties, bounded 
north by the Indian Territory, east by Lamar, south by Hunt and west by 



660 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Collin and Grayson. About one-third of i(s area is timber, the rest undulat- 
ing but rich prairie. It was first occupied by Captain "William Gilbert, and 
his camp was called English's Fort, now Bonham. This was in 1837. 
Bonham is on the Trans-Continental railroad, 128 miles west of Texarkana. 
Population of county, in 1870,13,207; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$3,599,805. It is watered by a number of small creeks tributary to Red river. 
The surface is undulating, about one-third part supplied with waliuit, post- 
oak, elm, ash, and many other varieties of timber, especially bois d'arc> 
which abounds. The soil is of the first quality, prairie and bottom being 
both of black loam, and well adapted to all small grains, as well as cotton. 
Most kinds of fruit abound, especially apples and peaches. Health and water 
are excellent. 

46. Fayette. — Created from Bastrop and Washington in 1837 ; named for 
General Lafayette ; LaGrange the county seat. The Colorado river mean- 
ders through the county and it has numerous creeks, with rich bottoms^ 
The undulating prairies are also productive, and nearly every acre of land 
in the county is arable. In 1821, the Buckners, Ay lot C. and Oliver, settled 
an the creek that bears their name. In 1823, the Castlemaus settled on the 
west bank of the river, and S. F. Austin, for a time, made that his home. 
The Itubb family settled on Rabb's creek, and the Cummitigs f\\mily on 
Cummiiigs creek, and the Rosses at Ross Prairie. In 1831, the half league of 
land upon which Lagrange now stands, was granted to John H. Moore. 
Ledbetter, on the western branch of the Texas Central railway, is in the 
eastern portion of this county, and' Flatonia and "Waelder, in the western 
portion, are on the Sunset Route. Population, in 1870, 16,863; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $4,705,213. 

47. Fort Bend. — Created from Austin in 1837 ; named from an old fort in 
the bend of the Brazos river ; bounded north by Harris and Austin, east by 
Harris and Brazoria, south by Brazoi'ia and Wharton, west by Wharton 
and Austin.' Richmond is the county seat. It is thirty miles from Houston, 
on the Sunset railroad, which crosses the Brazos at that point. The land 
on the river bottom, which, with Oyster creek, is six miles wide, is of in- 
exhaustible fortuity. The prairies afford fine stock range. Wm. Little^ 
who accompanied Austin in his first trip to Texas, selected the site of the 
town of Richmond. In 1822, four young men built a block-house there, in 
The bond of the river. William Morton settled on the east side of the river. 
During the same and following year, Randall and Henry Jones, William 
Styles, Jesse Thompson, Churchill Fulcher, Thomas Barnett, C. C. Dyer, 
Elijah Roarch, Thomas H. and Paschal Borden, William, Archibald and 
Robert Hodge, and James Frisbce, settled in the county. Randall Foster 
(died in 1878) obtained a league of land T )r supplying meat, as a hunter, to 
Austin and his party. Probably a larger number of the survivors of Austin's 
first three hundred colonists live in Fort Bend than in any other county in 
the State. Population, in 1870,7.11-1; assessed value of jjropeity in 1876, 
$2,254,724. * 

The San Bernard river is the wesi„r:i boimdary of the county, and*s a 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 661 

small stream until it reaches tide-water in Brazoria county. Big creek, so 
called from its diminutive proportions, {lucus a non liicendo,) intervenes 
between the Brazos and San Bernard, and is tribulary to the Brazos. 
Jones' creek empties into tlie Brazos one mile above Richmond, on the east 
side. Oyster creek rises in the northeastern part of the county, and, pursu- 
ing a course parallel with the Brazos, empties into the west bay of Galveston, 
several miles northeast of the debouchure of the main riv<!r into the Gulf. 
Fort Bend county is at the head of the true delta of the Brazos, as its waters, 
when liigh, run into Oyster creek, and at such times, the two channels are 
connected by a net-work of bayous and small lakes from Richmond to the 
Gulf Both Oyster creek and Jones' creek are included in what is called the 
Brazos bottom on the east, and here are found our richest lauds and largest 
plantations, the banks of both being lined continously with fields in their 
entire extent through the county. The Brazos bottoni, including both sides 
of the river, is from six to twelve miles wide, most of the timber being on 
the east side, the prairie on the west bluffing on the river in many places. 
It is estimated that three-fourths of the county is prairie. The timber is 
confined to the bottom lauds, with the exception of a narrow belt of post- 
oaks in the northeastern part of the county, and consists of elm, ash, pecan, 
hackberry, cottonwood, and several varieties of the oak. On the Bernard 
there is considerable cedar and cypress. The undergi'owth is cane, wild 
peach, and black-haw. The soil of the bottoms is a rich alluvium, from 20 
to 35 feet deep ; that of the prairies varies with the locality ; in some 
places it is composed of sand and vegetable matter, the result of the decay 
of successive crops of grass, while in others you will find the black tena- 
cious hog- wallow, without a trace of sand and with a substratum of clay 
and marl, the latter frequently cropping out on the surface.- 

48. Franklin. — Created in 1875; named for B. C. Franklin; bounded 
north by Red River county, south by Camp and "Wood, east by Titus and 
west by Hopkins. Mount Vernon is the county seat. Assessed value of 
property in 1876, $481,093. 

49. Freestone. — Fairfield is the county seat ; created in 1850; bounded 
north by Navarro, east by Anderson, south by Leon and west by 
Lime8toue;it is a heavily timbered county on the west side of the Trinity 
river. The International railroad passes along its southeastern boundary, 
and the Houston and Texas Central on the northwest corner of the county. 
Population, in 1870, 8,139; assessed value of property, in 1876, $1,870,007. 
A later census gives the population at 13,000, of whom 4,256 are colored. 

50. Frio. — Created in 1858; named for Frio (cold) river; Frio is the 
county seat. Bounded north by Medina, east by Atascosa, south by 
LaSalle and west by Zavalla. It is a sparsely populated, stock-raising 
county. It is watered by the Frio, Lcona, Hondo, and San ^Miirnel creeks 
and is tolerably well timbered. Assessed value of property, in 1876, 
$295,308. 



662 HISTOKY OF TEXAS. 

51. Galveston. — Created in 1838; named for the Count De Galvez; 
bounded north by Harris and Chambers, east by Chambers, south b\ the 
Gulf of Mexico. Galveston is the largest city in the State, and the center 
of the State's commerce. The island was occupied by Minister Herrera 
and Commodore Au'-y, in 1816 ; in 1817-19, it was the rendezvous of the 
pirate Lafitte. In 1830, it became a port of entry of the Mexican Kepublic; 
but Colonel Bradburn, then in command, transferred the business to 
Anahuac. In 1831, Colonel Piedras, in command at Nacogdoches, located an 
eleven-league claim so as to cover the island; in 1834, it was located by 
ColonelJohu N. Seguin; at the second session of the First Texas Congress, 
M. Menard, and others, who had bought Seguin's claim, paid the Kepublic 
$50,000 for a clear title to the east end of the island, and at once organized 
the "Galveston Company" and surveyed and sold the lots. lu 1837, a 
wharf was built, and M'Kinney & Williams transferred their business from 
the mouth of the Brazos to the new city, Avliich rapidly grew, concentrating 
the trade of all central Texas at that point. Population, in 1870,15,290; 
assessed value of property, in 1876, $20,933,308. 

52. Gillespie. — Named for R. A. Gillespie ; Fredericljsburg is the county 
seat ; ci'eated in 1848. Bounded north by Mason and Llano, east by Blanco, 
south by Kendall and Kerr, and west by Kerr and Kimble. This county 
was settled by the Germans that came to Texas with Prince de Solms in 
1846. As tliat was a dry year, the colonists suffered incredible hardships 
for want of food. At first the Comanclies were friendly and brought into 
the settlements venison, etc. Herr Von Krewitz acted as Indian Agent, and 
pursued the policy adopted by Penn, and li^ept tlie Indians friendly until an 
unfortunate circumstance interrui^ted this state of peace. This is a prairie 
county, remarkable for health. Fredericksburg is 1,500 feet above the 
sea level. It is about 70 miles north-west of San Antonio. Population of 
tlie county in 1870, 3,566; assessed value of property in 1876, $901,222. 
About eighteen miles nortli of Fredericksburg there is a conspicuous object 
in the landscape, known as the Enchanted Pock. It covers about twelve 
hundred acres of ground. It is a huge granite and iron formation, about 
800 feet high, covering at its base several acres of space, its top being about 
400 yards square. Its name was derived from its magnificent appearance, 
for when the sun shines upon it morning and evening, it resembles a huge 
mass of burnished gold. It is said to be particularly beautiful after a rain. 
Fully a half hour is required for the most expert climber to ascend to the 
summit of the Enchanted Pock. There the country for many miles around 
is overlooked. Within the scope of the eye the landscape is perfectly 
grand, the blue tops of BuIls-IIoad, House Mountaiu and Mount Nebo 
appearing to the view. At the base of the Enchanted Rock a cool spring 
bursts out, furnishing the adventurer, the explorer, or the curious person 
who may come to this spot, refreshing water. The approaches to tliis place 
are exceedingly rough, and strong signs of various minerals exist on every 
hand. Some of the granite nx-ks in this re.^'ion are really beautiful. 
About fourteen miles oast of lime thoi-o is a vor>- large cave, and within it 
names and paintings put there with ingmeut long ago. 




SCENE ON COMAT^ RIVER. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 665 

53. Goliad. — One of the original counties of the RepubUc. The name is 
an anagram from Hidalgo. Goliad is one of the most famous places in the 
history of our State. It was first visited by De Leon in 1G87. About 1715, a 
Mission was projected fur the benefit of the Caranchua Indians. It was 
named La Bahia (the Bay) Mission. At a later period, a second Mission, 
probably for the Aranamas, a half-civilized tribe, who possessed consider- 
able property and lived in comfortable houses, was established, called 
Espiritu Santo. In 1812-13, the place was occupied by the Republican army 
under Magee, and some severe battles were fought iii the neighborhood. 
In 1817, Colonel Perry and his party were killed near this place, by Mexican 
soldiers sent by Arredondo. In 1835, it was captured by the Texans under 
Collingsworth and Milam; evacuated by Fannin March 17th, 1836 ; battle of 
Colita fought same day ; and Fannin and his brave men massacred March 
27th, 1836. During the colonial period. Decree No. 73, (1829) constituted 
Goliad a town or municipality. Population in 1870, 3,628; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $1,204,221. The county has some farms, but is mostly 
devoted to stock-raising. 

54. Gonzales. — Named for Raphael Gonzales ; bounded north by Gua- 
dalupe, Caldwell and Fayette, east by Lavaca, south by Dewitt and west 
by Karnes and Wilson. Gonzales, the county seat, is 65 miles from Sau 
Antonio. It has four leagues of land lying on the Guadalupe river, given 
to the corporation August 25th, 1832. In 1825, Green Dewitt, Francis 
Berry, James Kerr, Henry S. Brown and others, commenced a settlement 
near where the town now stands, but were driven ofl'by the Indians. The 
town was laid out and a permanent settlement effected in 1832. At this 
point in 1835, occurred the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution. The 
Mexican authorities had given the citizens a cannon ; Col. Ugartechea, in 
command^ at San Antonio, sent to remove the piece to that city. The 
citizens resisted, and seizing the gun, advanced upon Castanado, the Mexican 
officer, and he hastily retreated to San Antonio. The county has a large 
quantity of good land, is well watered, and has plenty of timber for fenc- 
ing purposes. Harwood, a station on the Sunset Route, is in the northern 
portion of the county. Population in 1870, 8,951; assessed value of prop- 
erty in 1876, $2,792,929. This county has a large body of very rich bottom 
lands in the Guadalupe, San Marcos and Peach creek bottoms. These rivers 
afford an abundance of water and timber. There are some sulphur sprino-g, 
and salt springs from which salt has been made. Cotton is the leading 
prodnct, and a bale to the acre is a common product in good seasons. All 
the products of other counties are common to this, except that the cereals 
do not succeed as well as in the counties further north. Tobacco is raised 
for home use, and succeeds well. 

55. Grayson.— Named for Peter W. Grayson; created from Fannin, in 
1846; Sherman is the county seat; named for Sidney Sherman. Bounded 
north by the Indian Territory, east by Fainiin, south by Collin and west by 
Cooke. Sherman is on the Texas Centrnl railroad. 329 miles north of IIous 
ton, and on the northern branch of the Texas Pacific railroad, 155 miles west 



066 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of Texarkana. Population of county in 1870, 14,327 ; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $6,019,8o7. Later estimates give Sherman a population of 
about 8,000, and Denison, nine miles north, about 4,000. A large number 
of small streams rise in it, flow northward and empty into the Red river. 
The surface is undulating, about one-fourth covered with elm, ash and 
post oalc. The soil is of a dark chocolate loam, and is nearly all good. 
Peaches, apples, and almost every kind of fruit abounds. Health and 
water, with some exceptions, good, and these two things always go 
together. 

56. Gregg. — Created in 1875 ; named for John Gregg ; Longview is the 
county seat. It is on the Texas Pacific Railroad, 66 miles west of Shreve- 
port. This is a small, agricultural county. Assessed value of property in 
1876, $1,029,828. 'No census lias been taken of the county. Longview is 
estimated to have 500 inhabitants. It lias a cotton compress, and does a 
large trade. 

57. Grimes — Created from Montgomery in 1846 ; named for Jesse Grimes. 
Anderson is the county seat; named for Kenneth L. Anderson. Bounded 
north by Madison, east by Walker and Mongomery, south by Harris, and 
west by Washington. It lies on the east side of the Brazos river, and the 
Navasota meanders through the county. Colonel J. E. Groce settled 
in the county in 1822. He was soon followed by the Whitesides, 
Grimes, Walker and other families. The Central Railroad passes through 
the center of the county. Navasota is seventy miles north of Houston. 
Population of the county in 1870, 13,218; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$2,498,907. It is well watered by numerous creeks, which empty into the 
Navasota, which unites with the Brazos river, near its southwestern corner. 
The surface of the county is rolling, a large portion of it being jjrairie, 
much of the soil being rich black loam. An abundance of timber, consist- 
ing of i)ine, oak cedar, ash, and other varieties, for ordinary purposes, are 
found. The principal productions are cotton and corn, wheat and other 
small grain having besn introduced only to a limited extent, notwithstand- 
ing the soil appears finely adapted to their culture. Springs are numerous, 
many of them being strongly impregnated with sulphur; Kellum's spring, 
about ten miles north of Anderson, being one of the finest sulphur springs 
in the State. 

58. Guadalupe — Created from Gonzales and Bexar in 1846 ; named for 
the river which passes through the county. Seguin is the county seat; 
named for Erasmo Seguin. Bounded north by Comal and Caldwell, east 
by Caldwell and Gonzales, south by Gonzales and Wilson, west by Bexar 
and Comal. Besides the Guadalupe river, it has the San Marcos on the east 
and the Cibolo on the west, with their numerous tributaries. It is well 
watered, has a tolerable sni)ply of timber, and the soil is very rich and pro- 
ductive. In 1839, a company of soldiers had their encampment at the Wil- 
low Springs (Seguin) and a settlement was formed under the protection 
of the soldiers. Population in 1870,7,282. The ''Sunset Road" passes 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 667 

througli tlie county. Seguin is 172 niiles west of Houston, and is 35 east of 
San Antonio. 

59. Hamilton— Created in 1858; named for James Hamilton, of South 
Carolina. Hamilton is the county seat. Though this is what is called the 
Avheat region, it produces excellent cotton ; is well watered, having the 
Leon, Cowhouse, and Bennet creeks and their tributaries; has enough tim- 
ber for firewood, and excellent building-stone. Hamilton is about fiil\- 
miles from Waco and one hundred miles from Austin. It is bounded on the 
north by Comanche and Erath, east by Bosque, south by CorycUe and Lam- 
pasas, and west by Brown. Population in 1870, 733; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $577,536. 

60. Hardin— Created from Liberty in 1858, and is named for William 
Hardin. Hardin is the county seat. It is bounded north by Polk and Tyler, 
east by Jasper, south by Jefferson, and west by Liberty. Population in 
1870, 1,460. Assessed value of property in 1876, $8-4,380. It is densely 
timbered. Soue Lake is becoming a favorite resort for invalids. 

61. Hakkis — Named for John E. Harris, an early settler. The first name 
proposed for the municipality was Magnolia. Houston is the county seat, 
named for Sam Houston. It is bounded north by Grimes and Montgomery,, 
east by Liberty, south by Galveston, and west by Fort Bend and Waller. 
This county was settled in 1822. The fii-st steam saw-mills erected in Aus- 
tin's colony were in this county, one by Judge Burnet and the other by Mr. 
Harris. In 1832, Mr. Lynch opened a store at Lynchburg. The municipal- 
ity of Harrisburg was created by the Executive Council, January 1st, 1836. 
At the organization of the government ad iaterun, this municipality fur- 
nished both the President, Judge Burnet, and the Vice-President, Don Lo- 
renzo de Zavalla. For a time Harrisburg was the seat of government, but 
was burned by Santa Anna, as was also New AVashington on the bay. It 
was in this county that the decisive battle of San Jacinto was fought. la 
1836, after the battle, Messrs. A. C. and J. K. Allen bought the league of 
land above the Harris league, which was held at too high a price, and laid 
Gift the town of Houston. Four thousand dollars were paid for the league. 
During the fall the " Old Capitol" was built, and the seat of government 
transferred to the new town. In 1840, Austin became the seat of govern- 
ment, but in 1842 it returned for a short time to Houston. The first railroad 
started in Texas was the one from Harrisburg* toward the Brazos, in 1856. 
Houston is now the principal railroad center in South eastern Texas. Pop 
ulation of the county in 1870, 17,375 ; assessed value of property in 1876, 
!^12,355,925. 

62. Harrison— Created from Shelby in 1839 ; named for a pioneer settler. 
Marshall is the county seat. Bounded north by Marion, cast by Louisiana, 
south by Panola, and west by Uusk and Gregg. Marshall is on the Texas 
Pacific flailroad, forty-two miles west of Shreveport. Population of county 
in 1870, 13,241; assessed value of property in 1876, $3,969,303. Before the 



668 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

civil war, this was one of the leadiiig counties of the State in point of popu- 
lation and wealth. Since the war other counties have increased more rap- 
idly. It is well watered by the Sabine and numerous creeks, which &ow 
into it on the south, and Big Cypress and other creeks, which flow into the 
lakes upon its northern borders. The surface is rolling, with some portions 
broken and hilly. Tliere is a variety of soil, a sandy loam predominating. 
An abundance of timber is found in every section, consisting of post, red, 
white, and other sjiecies of oak, ijine, cypress, ash, gum, sassafras, mulberry, 
and other varieties. Cotton and corn are the staple products, though wheat 
and other small grains are raised to a considerable extent. Water freestone, 
and quite pure. Health generally good. Peaches, apples, jjlums, pears, 
and other kinds of fruits are raised. Game abundant, consisting of deer, 
wild turkeys and ducks, which frequent the lakes during the winter in vast 
numbers, while catfish, trout, bass, white, black and yellow perch are ob- 
tained from the lakes. 

63. Hays — Cx'eated from Travis in 1848; named for John. C. Hays. San 
Marcos is the county seat. It is bounded north by Travis, east and south- 
east by Travis and Caldwell, southwest by Comal, and northwest by Blanco. 
The San Marcos Spring, just above the town, is one of the finest in the State. 
It was selected by the fathers of the College of Santa Cruz for a mission, in 
1729, but as the adjacent ground was too high for irrigation, the location 
was changed to the San Antonio river. This county was included in Milam's 
grant, and was settled in 1844-5, by General Ed. Burleson and otherSo 
The scenery in this county is most picturesque ; the undulating prairies are 
very rich ; and there is a supply of mountain cedar for fencing. San Mar- 
cos is thirty miles south-west of Austin, on the line of the projected Inter- 
national Railroad, towards San Antonio. Stages connect also with Luling, 
on the Sunset Route. Population of county in 1870, 4,088; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $1,304,445. ' 

64. Henderson. — Created from Houston, and Nacogdoches in 1850 ; 
named for J. Pinckney Henderson ; Athens is the couuty seat. It is 
bounded north by Kaufman and Vanzandt, east by Smith, south by Ander- 
son and west by Navarro. It is an agricultural county, with an abundance 
of good water, timber and soil. Population in 1870, 6,786 ; assessed vaiue 
of property in 1876, $960,000. The first settlement made in this county 
was in 1846 ; T. Ball and S. J. Scott settled on Walnut creek ; Mr. Godard 
settled Buffalo, a town on the Trinity ; Chas. Sanders settled near Buffalo ; 
H. and J. A. Mitchara settled Wildcat creek, in the south-west corner of the 
county ; Dr. Adams and Wm. Hytower settled in the east end ; Judge Rob- 
erts presided over the first court ever held here, which was under the shade 
of an oak tree, near tlie centre of the county, which tree is still preserved. 
Mr. J. A. Mitcham, who gives us these statements, also adds, that on the 
bluff on Cedar creek, in the west end of the county, a number of human 
bones have been found, together with some guns, etc. ; this discovery was 
made in 1851. The surface is rolling and well timbered with pine, oak, 
etc ; the soil upon the uplands is a light sandy loam, producing cotton and 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 669 

corn abundantly, during favorable seasons. Springs of pure water are 
found in all sections, and well-water is generally good and cool. 

65. Hidalgo. — Named for Guadalupe Hidalgo, a leader of the Revolu- 
tion in Mexico. Edinburg, on the Rio Grande, is the county seat. Bound- 
ed north by Nueces, east by Cameron, south by Mexico, and west by Starr. 
It is a very large county, having an area of 3,200 square miles; was created 
from Cameron in 1852. In the southern part of the county, on the river, 
the land is good; the northern part is sandy. It is a stock-raising county. 
Population in 1870, 2,387 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $300,705. 
The county has a wonderful salt lake, {Sal del Bey). The lake is about 
one mile in diameter, in a flat surrounded by higher land. It is supposed 
to rest on a salt mine, as the water is very strongly impregnated with saline 
matter; and when the salt is removed it immediately fills up again with 
salt by precipitation; so the supply is inexhaustible. It is situated forty 
miles north of Edinburg and eighty-five from Brownsville. During the 
civil war it furnished salt for a large portion of Southern Texas. 

66. Hill. — Created from Navarro and Ellis in 1853 ; named for George W . 
Hill ; Hillsborough is the county-seat. Bounded north by Johnson, east by 
Ellis and Navarro, south by Limestone and M'Lennan, and west by Bosque. 
Fort Graham, on the Brazos river, was settled by Mr. Kimble in 1834:. It 
is a prairie county, well adapted to agriculture or stock-raising. It is 
watered by the Brazos river and Nolaud and Aguilla creeks. Population in 
1870, 7,453; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,764,648. 

67. Hood.— Created from Johnson in 1866; named for John B.Hood. 
Granbury, named for General Granbury, is the county-seat. Bounded 
north by Parker, east by Johnson, south by Somervell, and west by Erath 
and Palo Pinto. It is small, having but 450 square miles. The county has 
a fair supply of timber and the land is rich and productive. Population in 
1870, 2,585; assessed value of property in 1876, $689,523. Granbury is 
thirty-five miles from Fort Worth, the present terminus of the Texas Pa- 
cific Railroad. The county is situated on both sides of and embracing in its 
boundaries, nearly two hundred miles of that crooked stream, the Brazos 
river, into which Long, Rucker's, Walnut Fall, and George's creeks in the 
east, and Paloxy, Squaw, Stroud's, and Robinson's in the west, all supplied 
by springs and clear as crystal, empty. This county presents the combined 
advantages of abundant pure spring and well Avater ; plenty of convenient- 
ly located timber; numerous fertile valleys, elevated rich post-oak table 
land, mingled prairie and timber lands, profusion of superior building- 
stone, while its location between the 32d and 33d degrees, and its romantic, 
picturesque, and, to a considerable extent, broken and rugged surface, ren- 
ders its chraate mild, equable, and salubrious. No malarious swamps, hog 
wallow prairies, or miasmatic jjonds of stagnant water exist to sow disease 
and death. Near the centre rise the huge outlines of Comanche Peak, 
towering some 600 leet above the Brazos, a noted land-mark, and visible 
from nearly all parts of the county. The eastern and western edges of the 



670 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

county consist of prairies, bisected every few miles by beautiful, limi)id 
ruumng creeks, fringed with timber, and through the center run« the Bra- 
zos river, with its belt of timber from five to ten miles wide, and dotted 
here and there with many large, thrifty, and productive valley farms. The 
Brazos and its numerous tributaries furnish abundant water-power, and 
hundreds of line manufacturing sites can be found at its countless falls, and 
in the luimerous bends of the river. 

68. Hopkins. — Created in 1846, from Lamar and Nacogdoches; named 
for a pioneer family. Sulphur Springs is the county seat. It is bounded 
on the north by Delta, east by Franklin, south by Wood and Rains, and 
west by Hunt. It is a rich agricultural county, well watered, and with an 
a,bundant supply of timber. Population in 1870, 12,651 ; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $1,855,581. 

69. Houston. — Created from Nacogdoches in 1837 ; named for Sam Hous- 
ton* Crockett is the county-seat. It is bounded north by Anderson, north- 
east by Cherokee, south-east by Tiinity, and west by Madison and Leon. 
One of the old routes of travel, one hundred and fifty years ago, passed 
through this county, and it is probable that the old mission La Trinidad, 
one of the first projected in Texas, was at the river, near the present town 
of Alabama. Relics have been picked up there ; among others a bell bear- 
ing dale 1690. The county possesses an abundance of timber; has good 
land, and is well watered. Crockett is on the International Railway, one 
hundred and fifteen miles north of Houston. Population of county in 1870, 
8,197 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,764,648. 

70. Hunt. — Created in 1846 from Fannin and Nacogdoches ; named for 
Memucau Hunt. Greenville is the county-seat; named for T. J. Green, 
(Mier prisoner) . Bounded north by Fannin, east by Delta and Hopkins, 
south by Rains, Van Zandt and Kaufman, and west by Rockwall and Col- 
lin. This is a fine agricultural and stock-raising county, about equally 
divided between timber and prairie. Fi*om Greenville it is thirty-five miles 
to M'Kinney, on the Texas Central Railroad; thirty miles to Terrell, on 
the Texas Pacific, and thirty-three miles to Bonham, on the Trans-conti- 
nental Railroad. Population in 1870, 10,241 ; assessed value of property in 
1876, $1,852,681. It is abundantly watered by numerous creeks and 
branches, which form the head waters of Sabine river ; springs are fre- 
quent; the surface is rolling, and in some sections, quite hilly, and very 
well supplied with post-oak, ehn, ash, bois d'arc, etc. The soil is black and 
rich, both on bottom and prairie, producing wheat, corn, cotton, potatoes, 
etc. 

71. Jack. — Created from Cooke in 1856 ; named for William H. and P. C. 
Jack. Jacksborough is the county seat. It is bounded north by Clay and 
Montague, east by Wise, south by Pai-ker and Palo Pinto, and west by 
Young and Archer. The country is undulating, with prairie and timber 
lands ; is suitable for small farmers and stock raisers ; is watered by the 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 671 

Trinity river and a number of creeks. Population, in 1870, 694; assessed 
value of property, in 1876, $403,509. Jacksborougli is 2,000 feet above the 
level of the sea. 

72. Jackson. — Named for Andrew Jackson. Texana, at the head of 
navigation on the Navidad river, is the county seat. It is bounded north by 
Lavaca, east by Wharton and Matagorda, south by Calhoun and we.-t by 
Victoria. It was at Dimitt's Point, iu this county, that La Salle built Fort 
St. Louis in 1686. The county was settled by Austin's colonists iu 1827-28. 
In 1833, the Ayuntaiinento of Brazoria created the precinct of Santa Anna, 
afterwards changed to Texana. In 1836, Patrick Usher was Chief Justice. 
The first Declaration of Texas Independence was made at a public meeting 
on the Navadad river, July 10th, 1835, of which James Kerr was Chairuiau 
and Samuel Rogers, Secretary. Jackson is one of the coast counties; it 
is well adapted to the raising of cotton and sugar ; and has a fine range for 
stock. Population, in 1870, 2,278; assessed value of property, iu 1876^ 
$670,512. 

73. Jasper. — Named for Sei'geant Jasper, of the American Kevolution. 
It is bounded nortli by Angelina, San Augustine and Sabine, east by Newton, 
south by Orange, and west by Hardin and Tyler. Jasper is the county seat. 
This is one of the heavily-timbered counties of SouLheastern Texas, and has 
water communication via Neches river, with Sabine Pass, and is accessible 
to the Houston and New Orleans Eaihoad. The first settlement in the 
oounty was known as Bevilport, from John Bevil. In 1830, Antonio 
Padilla, the Land Commissioner, organized the precinct, in connection with 
the Municipality of Nacogdoches, and laid out a town on tlie Neches, to 
which the name of Teran was given. Terau had four leagues of land and a 
small garrison of Mexican soldiers under Colonel Bean. December 1st, 
1835, the Executive Council changed the name from Bevilport to Jasper. 
Population in 1870, 4,218; assessed value of property ia 1876, 393,194. 
George W. Smyth furnished the following interesting historical sketch of 
old Jasper, and some of the neighboring counties : 

" When my acqaintauce first commenced with the region of country now 
embraced iu Jasper county, which was in 1830, in consisted of a settlement 
of about thirty families, scattered from the Sabine to the Neches, and known 
as ' Bevil's Settlement,' from John Bevil, Esq., the * oldest inliabitant.' 
Bevil's Settlement, was, at that time, separated from the settlement above, 
known as the ' Ayish Bayou Settlement' (now the counties of San Augus- 
tine and Sabine) by a wilderness of forty miles, and from that below, 
as < Cow Bayou Settlement,' by an uninhabited region of seventy miles. 
This county was included in the colony granted iu 1829, to Lorenzo de 
Zavalla, by the State of Coahuila and Texas, with the consent of the general 
government of Mexico. In 1830, it was organized into a precinct of the Munic- 
ipality of Nacogdoches, with a ' Commissario of Police,' by Juan Antonio 
Padillo as Commsssioner. In 1834, it was created into a separate munici- 
pality by the name of the 'Municipality of Bevil,' and the town of Jasper^ 
as the seat of the municipality, located under the authority of George 



672 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Antonio Nixon, Commissionei' of Zavalla's colony. At the first organiza- 
tion of counties after the revoUitiou, the ' Precinct of Bevil,' as it is culled 
in the Constitution of the Republic, became one of them, under the name 
of Jasper. The county of Jasper at tirst included both Jasper and Newton, 
but was divided into two, when the counties were re-orgaiiized under the 
State Constitution. Among the early settlers of this county, I may mention 
Messrs. John Bevil, James Chesshur, Thomas Watts. John Watts, John Saul, 
l-aac Isaacs and Hardy Pace. All of these, I think, emigrated betoi'e 
1828." 

74. Jefferson. — Beaumont, the county seat ; both named for Jefferson 
Beaumont, afterward Ciiief Justice of Calhoun county. Created by the 
Executive Council, in 1835, it was included in Zavalla's colony. It is 
bounded north by Hardin, cast by Orange and Sabine Lake, south by the 
Gulf of Mexico, and west by Liberty and Chambers. It is a stock-raising 
county, with some very rich land adapted to the cultivation of sugar, rice, 
etc. Beaumont is thirty-five miles, by water, from Sabine Pass, and about 
ninety-five from Galveston. It is on the Houston and New Orleans railroad^ 
eighty-three miles from Houston. Population of the county, in 1870, 1,900; 
assessed value of property in 187G, $832,941. 

75. Johnson. — Created from Ellis and Navarro, in 1854; named for M. 
T. Johnson. Cleburn, (for Pat. Cleburn) is the county seat. It is bounded 
north by Tarrant, east by Ellis, south by Hill and Bosque, and west by 
Somervell and Hood. In 1854, Captain Charles E. Bernard established a 
trading post in the county, around •which settlements were formed. The 
trade of the county goes to Fort Worth and Dallas. It is a splendid county 
of land, producing both cotton and wheat, and all the cereals; and an 
abundance of fruits. Population in 1870, 4,923 ; assessed value of property 
in 1876, $2,186,402. 

The Brazos river runs through the western part of this county, and Nolan's 
river. Chambers' and Cedar Bluff creeks head in the county. East of the 
Brazos the sui'face is rolling, and west of that I'iver it is very hilly. Thei'e 
are some vegetable and animal peti"ifactions. In these hills Comanche Peak 
is the highest elevation, being tv/o hundred feet above the surrounding 
country, and Caddo Peak rises like a potato hill, about one hundred and 
fifty feet. The former is four miles west of the Brazos, and the latter in the 
west edge of the Cross Timbers. 

76. Kaknes. — Created from Bexar and Goliad, in 1854; and is named for 
! [eury Karnes ; Helena is the county seat. It is bounded north by Wilson, 
east by Gonzales and DeWitt, south by Goliad and Bee, and west by Live- 
oak and Atascosa. This is emphatically a stock county, a considerable por- 
tion being inclosed in large pastures. There are some small farms: and 
when the ground is well cultivateil, it produces remunerative crops. Popu- 
lation in 1870, 1,705; assessed value of property in 1876, $922,556. 

77. Kaufman. — Created from Harrison, in 1848; named for David S. 
Kaufman; Kaufman is the county seat. It is bounded north by liockwell 




COURT HOUSE. DALLAS. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 675 

and Hunt, east by Van Zandt, south by Henderson and west by Ellis and 
Dallas. The Texas Pacific llailroad runs through it. Population in 1870, 
6,895; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,316,676. 

It is watered by the Bois d'Arc, or East Fork of the Trinity, which flows 
through its west side, and by numbers of creeks tributary to it ; the surface 
is rolling, and the southeastern portion generally timbered with a variety of 
oak, elm, etc., while the northwest consists almost entirely of prairie, away 
from water courses, which ai-e bordered by a scrubby growth of elm, and other 
varieties ; bois d'arc is found in large quantities, and of good sized trees 
attaining a growth of a foot and a half or more in diameter ; the soil of the 
prairies and bottoms is black and waxy generally, and a number of feet in 
depth, finely adapted to wheat and small grain ; large crops of corn are also 
made during favorable seasons. 

78. Kendall.— Created from Bexar and Kerr, in 1862, and named for 
George W. Kendall. Boerne is the county seat. It is bounded north by 
Gillespie and Blanco, east by Comal, south by Bexar and Bandera, and 
west by Kerr. This is a hilly region, noted for its health. It is a splendid 
stock range, especially for sheep. There are, also, a goodly number of 
small farms in successful cultivation. Boerne, thirty miles nortwest of San 
Antonio, is 1,200 feet above the level of the sea. Population in 1870, 1,536; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $119,737. 

Agricultural products, wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats, sorghum, sweet 
and Irish potatoes, good yield ; climate is one of the best in the world, with 
health unsurpassed; soil, black loam; seasons nearly regular; timber 
cypress, cedar, live-oak, post-oak, white-oak, black-jack, elm, poplar, wal- 
nut, hackberry, with a good variety of wild apple, plum, cherry, etc. 
The county is well watered, the Guadalupe and Cibolo running through the 
county, with their many tributaries, such as the Balcones, Frederick, Spring, 
Sabinas, Wasp, Block, Sistei'-, Cypress and Curry's creeks. Pasturage ex- 
cellent, particularly for sheep, there being about 15,000 of the latter in the 
county, doing well, and all cured of the scab. 

79. Kerr.— Created in 1856, when there was a military post at Camp 
Verde ; named for James Kerr; Kerrsville is the county seat. The descrip- 
tion for Kendall county will apply to this. Population in 1870, 1,042; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $334,428. 

It is bounded north by Kimble and Gillespie, east by Kendall, south by 
Bandera, and west by Edwards. 

80. Kimble^— Created in 1858; named for one of the victims of the 
Alamo massacre. It was organized in 1876 ; Kimbleville the county seat. 
It is bounded north by Menard and Mason, east by Mason and Gillespie, 
south by Kerr and Edwards, and west by Crockett. This is a hilly county 
but has some excellent land. On the creeks there are some extensive cedar 
brakes. It is a superb county for stock-raising. Population in 1870, 72 ; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $57,606. 

It is situated upon the head waters of the Llano river. The surface of 

37 



676 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

this county is very uneven, being a succession of narrow valleys and rocky 
higlilands. It is drained by the Llano river, and its north and south forks 
— Elm, Paintrock, Viego, Mills, Bluff, Ionia, Bear, and James creeks — 
which flow over rocky beds, and through deep ravines, and narrovv valleys. 
The water of these streams is clear and pure. The soil is rich, of black and 
chocolate color, and there is plenty of rock — generally limestone — for all 
building purposes in the county. There are also some good valley lands for 
agricultural jiurposes, still its best adaptation is for stock-raising, particu- 
larly liorses, sheep and liogs. The timber consists of live-oak, post-oak, 
black-jack, cedar, mesquite, elm, pecan, hackberry, etc. 

Fort Terrill is located on the south side of the North Llano, near the 
western line of the county. 

8L Kinney — Created from Bexar in 1850, and named forH. L. Kinney. 
Del Rio is the county seat. It is bounded north by Crockett, east by 
Uvalde, south by Maverick, and west by Mexico. In 1834, Messrs. Beale 
and Grant attempted to plant an English colony at Dolores, in this county, 
but the attempt failed, and the county was not occupied by an English- 
speaking population until quite recently. Small tracts of laud are irrigated, 
and produce abundant crops. The county is generally hilly, but admirably 
adapted to stock-raising, especially sheep. Brackett (Fort Clark) is about 
125 miles west of San Antonio. Population in 1870, 1,204; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $85,304. 

82. Lamar — Created from Red River in 1840; named for M. B. Lamar. 
Pax'is is the county seat. It is bounded north by the Indian Territory, east 
by Red River county, south by Delta, and west by Fannin. The lands iu 
this county are unsurpassed for fertility. Cotton, all the cereals, and a 
great variety of fruits are produced in great abundance. It was settled as 
early as 1818, by Emory Rains, Travis G. Wright, George W. Wright, and 
others. Mr. Clab Chisholm settled the town of Paris in 1836. Population 
of county in 1870, 15,790; assessed value of property in 1876, $4,059,275. 
Paris is on the northern branch of the Texas Pacific Railroad, 91 miles west 
of Texarkana, and 65 miles east of Sherman. 

83. Lampasas — Created in 1856 ; named from the river. Lampasas is the 
county seat. It is bounded north by Brown and Hamilton, east by Coryell, 
south by Burnet, and west by San Saba. It is a rich, rolling prairie county, 
famous for its health, and its sulphur springs near the town, which are 
resorted to by invalids from all parts of the State. The town is sixty-eight 
miles northwest of Austin. Population in 1870, 835 ; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $678,304. This county is hilly and mountainous, with 
the richest valleys in the world. The water being pure and healthful; the 
range is good ; game is scarce, though there are some deer, bear, wild 
turkeys, ducks, «fcc. ; fish are in great abundance, such as buffalo, cat- 
fish, suckers, «fcc. ; wild honey abounds. Almost three-fifths of the county 
is prairie. Tlicre are large bodies of limestone, suitable for building, and 
immense quarries of marble of various colors, and some admitting a fiiie 



COUXTY SKETCHES. 677 

polish. There is one ^It spring, from which salt has been profitably made 
at the rate of tliirty-five bushels per day. AVe have more than a dozen sul- 
phur, and several chalybeate springs. More than two thousand persons 
annually visit what are known as the Lampasas sulphur springs, some from 
the remotest parts of the State. Some coal mines have been found in the 
county. Many are now building stone fences, though cedar fences are more 
common. 

84. Lavaca — Created from Gonzales and other counties in 1846 ; named 
for the river of the same name. First Petersburg, and afterward HalJetts- 
ville (from a pioneer fixmily of that name) became the county seat. It is 
bounded north by Gonzales and Fayette, cast by Colorado, south by Whar- 
ton and Jackson, and west by DeWitt. The county has no railroad, bat 
Shulenburg is but sixteen miles distant, on the Sunset Route, and Cuero, on 
the road to Indianola, but a little farther off. This is an old-settled, popu- 
lous and desirable county. Population in 1870, 9,168; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $1,937,467. Lavaca is one of the finest counties in the 
State. There is scarcely an acre that has not the advantage of wood and good 
water convenient. More than half the county is timbered uplands, covered 
with post-oak, black-jack, pecan ; and the finest white oak and wild cherry 
are found on the rivers. The soil of the uplands is not what is generally 
termed rich. It is a light and sandy loam, and produces remarkably well, 
and crops rarely fail. On the bottom-lands the soil is blacky alluvial, deep 
and very productive. The prairies are mostly hog-wallow and stiff and 
clayey, but very productive when once under proper cultivation. The 
Lavaca and Navidad I'ivers, Clark's creek. Big Brushy, Little Brushy, 
Eocky, Mustang, and Nixon's creeks are all in, this county; and these, 
together with mimerous fine springs, give this county an abundant supply 
of water. There is no better pasturage than on the prairies, and the abun- 
dance of timber affords the vast stocks of cattle, horses and sheep an 
excellent shelter from the winter northers. The small grains — wheat, rye, 
oats, &c. — do better in this than in most of the lower counties. Tobacco 
yields well, and considerable is raised for market. The sorghum cane is 
raised successfully on every farm, and some make the syrup for market. 

85. Lee— Created from Washington, Burleson, and others, in 1873; 
named for Robert E. Lee. Giddings is the county seat; named for J. D. 
Giddings. The county is about equally divided between timber and prairie ; 
is on the dividing ridge between the waters of the Colorado and Brazos 
rivers, and is watered by the head branches of the Yegua, Cummings and 
Rabb's creeks. It is a good stock raising and agricultural county. It is 
bounded north by Williamson and Milam, east by Burleson, south by 
AYashington and Fa3-ette, and west by Bastrop. Giddings is on the western 
branch of the Texas Central Railroad, 106 miles from Houston and 59 from 
Austin. Assessed value of property in 1876, $1,428,298. 

86. Leon— Created from Robertson in 1846 ; named, probably, for Alonzo 
DeLeon, the Spanish commander, who penetrated Texas in 1687. Center- 



678 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ville is the county seat. It is bounded nortli by Limestone and Freestone^ 
east by Anderson and Houston, south by Madison, and west by Robei'tson. 
It is watered by the Trinity river and its tributaries on the east and the 
Navasota on the west. Is well timbered and a good agricultural county, 
■f he old San Antonio and Nacogdoches road passes through this county, 
and it was one of the earliest settled by Americans west of the Trinity river. 
"William Robbins kept a ferry on the river, when visited by Long in 1819. 
The International Railroad passes along the northern boundaiy of the 
county. Population in 1870, 6,586 ; assessed value of property in 1876,. 
$1,365,808. 

87. Liberty — One of the original municipalities of Texas. This was at 
an early period called Arkokisa, one of the names of the Trinity river, 
probably a corruptioii of Orquisaco, the name of an Indian tribe on its 
banks. At a later period it was called Atascosita, because the Atascosita 
road there crossed the river. In 1806, the Cantonment of Atascosita was 
created by Governor Cordero. In 1817, some French refugees from the 
ai'my of Napoleon settled on the Trinity river, and commenced planting 
vineyards, but the settlement was broken up by the Spaniards. In 1830, 
the municipality of Liberty was created by the Land Commissioner Madero, 
but was soon afterward transferred to Anahuac by Bradburn. In 1831, it 
was restored to Liberty by a popular vote. Liberty, the county seat, is on 
the bank of the Trinity, 110 miles from Galveston, by water, and 41 miles 
from Houston, on the Houston and New Orleans Railroad. The munici- 
pality originally included all the territory between the Sabine and San 
Jacinto rivers, below the jurisdiction of Nacogdoches. The present bound- 
aries are north by San Jacinto, east by Hardin, south by Chambers, and 
west by Harris and Montgomery. Population in 1870, 4,414 ; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $555,584. There is about an equal quantity of prairie 
and timbered land in the county, the upper, or northern, part being heavily 
timbered with pine, oak, hickory, ash, magnolia, wild peach, sassafras, wal- 
nut, elm, linn, and the usual variety of forest growth. There are extensive 
cypress-bi'akes bordering on the Trinity, and fine pineries within a few 
miles of the town of Liberty. The lower Trinity is skirted, for a distance 
of six miles on either side, by dense forests, suited for lumber and fuel ; 
and the " wood business " for Galveston market is carried on extensively, 
and is increasing in importance daily, as the increasing demand of that 
rapidly-gi owing city must be supplied from this section. 

88. Limestone — Created from Robertson and NavaiTO in 1846. Groes- 
beck is the county seat. Bounded north by Hill and Navarro, east by 
Freestone, south by Robertson, and west by Falls and McLennan. This is 
a beautiful, undulating, agricultural and stock-raising county. It is i)roba- 
ble that the block house, erected by Philip Nolan in 1801, was near the 
Tchuacana hills, in this county. Parker's fort was established in 1835, and 
broken up by the Indians May 9th, 1836. Two years later, on Battle creek, 
a party of surveyors were attacked, and seventeen killed by the Indians. 
Gi'oesbeck is on the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, 170 miles north 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 679 

of Houston. Population of the county in 1870, 8,591 ; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $2,660,873. 

89. Live Oak — Created from San Patricio and Nueces in 1856. Oakville 
is the county seat. Bounded north by Atascosa, east by Karnes and Bee, 
south by San Patricio and Nueces, and west by McMullen. It is a stock- 
raising county, watered by the Atascosa and Nueces rivers. Oakville is 
seventy-five miles south of San Antonio and the same distance north of 
Corpus Christi. Population in 1870,852; assessed value of property in 
1876, $735,735. The surface is level, in parts undulating; about one-fifth 
part supplied with post-oak and mesquite. The soil is a deep, sandy loam, 
very productive. Water is scarce, but good. Health is very good. 

90. Llano. — Named for a river ot the same name; Llano is the county 
seat. Bounded north by San Saba, east by Burnet, south by Blanco and 
Gillespie and west by Mason. It is a stock-raising county, the surface roll- 
ing and somewhat mountainous ; watered by the Llano and its numerous 
branches. Among the more conspicuous mountain peaks are the Enchanted 
Rock and Pack-saddle mountain. This is a mineral region, possessing an 
inexhaustible supply of iron oi*es and granite; silver mines are being 
operated with a fair prospect of success. The county was originally 
included in Fisher and Miller's colony ; was created in 1856. Population in 
1870, 1,379; assessed value of property in 1876, $427,324. 

91. Madison. — Created in 1853 from Grimes, "Walker and Leon ; named 
for James Madison ; Madisonville is the county seat. Bounded north by 
Leon, east by Houston, south by Walker and Grimes, and west by Brazos; 
watered by the Trinity on the east and the Navasota on the west ; surface 
undulating, and well supplied with timber. Population in 1870,4,061; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $613,579. 

92. Marion. — Created from Cass in 1860; named for Francis Marion; 
Jefferson, the county seat, was laid out in 1845. Bounded north by Cass, 
east by Louisiana, south by Harrison and west by Upshur. It is a fine 
cotton-producing county, with a great abundance of the best of timber. 
Jefferson is at the head of navigation on the Big Cypress bayou, 500 miles by 
water from New Orleans; and on the trans-continental branch of the Texas 
and Pacific railroad, sixteen miles north of Marshall, and fiity-nine miles 
south-wost of Texarkana. Population of county in 1870, 8.562; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $1,889,118. The soil of this county is not as rich 
generally as many others. The bayou, ci'eek bottoms, and lands upon the 
lakes, are equal to any other lands in the State, producing, on an average, 
from 1,000 to 1,500 lbs. cotton to the acre, and the uplands from 600 to 800 
lbs. to the acre. Tobacco groAVS well in this county. Tlie planters gen- 
erally raise an abundance of corn, the average crop being from twenty to 
twenty-five bushels to the acre. The lands are not well adapted to wheat, 
and the average is not more than ten to twelve bushels per acre. Other 
small grains, such as rye, oats and barley, yield i)leutif ul crops to the farmer. 



680 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

The fai'mers generally raise their own hogs, and have no difficnltv in 
making as good bacon as was ever put up in Ohio or Kentucky. As to 
cheapness and comfort of living, Ave have butter, milk, eggs and poultry in 
abundance. This county has a great vaiiety of timber, such as pine, oak, 
ash, walnut, hickory, mulberry, cedar, cypress and other forest-trees. Our 
best building material is pine and cypress. Grape and mulberry abound 
here; they are indigenous to the soil, and grow luxuriantly, indicating that 
wine and silk, as well as cotton and tobacco, will one day become staples 
of the county. Iron ore is found in this county in great abundance; the 
ore will yield upward of 75 per cent. One foundry, known as Nash's Iron 
"Works, has been worked with great success. Leeds, and other iron men 
of New Orleans, have woi'ked and tested this iron, and pronounce it equal 
to any in the world for toughness and malleability. The quantity is equal to 
all the demands of Texas for hundreds of years to come. The hills in which 
this ore abounds are covered with dense forests of pine and other timber, 
useful as fuel in the furnaces. Lead, copperas and copper are also found in 
considerable quantities. Many other sources of wealth and enjoyment are 
found here, and will, all in good time, be realized by her citizens. Fruits 
of all kinds grow well here, and of the rarest and richest kinds; the peach 
is unrivaled, and nowhere is it of larger growth or richer tiavor; the nec- 
tarine, quince and grape are equally luxuriant; the fig, a delicious fruit, is 
very common, and may be raised in the greatest abundance. A great 
variety of berries, such as the mulberry, dewberry, whortleberry, straw- 
berry and gooseberry, grow wild in the greatest profusion. The chincapin, 
walnut and hickory nuts are vei*y abundant. The deer are still very plen- 
tiful, hence venison is very common and very cheap. Besides deer, wild 
turkeys are very numerous, and generally fat. Large and almost innumer- 
able flocks of wild geese, brants, mallard and common ducks, and other 
water-fowl, frequent the bayous and lakes, and are so plentiful that a hunter 
can always furnish hiraself'with as many of them as he desires. Partridges, 
pigeons, snipes and rice-birds are very plentiful. Fish of almost every 
character are in great abundance in the lakes and bayous. There are many 
mineral springs, some of which are places of much resort, and are highh^ 
appreciated for their medicinal virtues. 

93. Masox. — Created in 1858; named for Captain Mason, of the United' 
)States Army; Mason is the county seat. Bounded on the north by M'Cul- 
loch ar.d San Saba, east by Llano, south by Gillespie and Kimble, and west 
by Kimble and Menard. A military post was established at Fort Mason in 
1845. When the late Civil AVar broke out, Robert E. Lee was in command 
of the fort with the 2d Dragoons. It is a stock-raising county; partially 
timbered, with an undulating surface ; watered by the Llano and San Saba 
rivers and their tributaries. Population in 1870, 678; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $367,514. 

94. Matagorda. — An Indian name; one of the original municipalities of 
Texas. Bounded north by Wharton, east by Brazoria, south by the Gulf of 
Mexico and west by Calhoun and Jackson ; Matagorda is the county seat. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 681 

It is a coast county, admirably adapted to stock-raising, and possessing- 
some of the finest cotton and sugar lands in the State. The coast was 
explored by La Salle in 1686 ; occupied by the French under Belisle, in 
1721; and by the Spaniards in 1722, The schooner "' Only Son," with a 
number of Austin's colonists, landed on the banks of the Colorado river in 
1821, and again in 1822; the last time bringing the Kincheloe family, H. 
Chriesman, Messrs. Rawls and Prewett. A few days later, another vessel 
landed, bringing Mrs. Peyton, S. M. Williams, Nicholas Clopper and 
others. The supplies of these colonists were left in charge of four young 
men, while the families ascended the river to Wharton. The young men 
left in charge of the provisions were killed by the Indians, and the pro- 
visions, etc., stolen and destroyed. In 1828, the Only Son brought another 
company of colonists, including Abram Clare, James Morgan and others. 
Matagorda was then under the jurisdiction of the Ayuutamiento of San 
Felipe, and Robert H. Williams was Alcalde. The town of Matagorda 
was settled in 1829, by Phillip Dimitt, S. Rhoades Fisher, H. Wooldridge, 
R. R. Royall, the Wards, etc. The precinct of Matagorda was formed 
by the Ayuntamiento of Brazoria in 1833. Decree No. 265, March 6th, 
1S34:, created the municipality; Thomas M. Duke and Seth Ingram were 
Alcaldes. In 1836, Silas Dinsmore was Chief Justice. Population of the 
county in 1870, 3,379 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,156,497. 

95. Maverick. — Created in 1856; organized in 1871; named for S. A. 
Maverick; Eagle Pass is the county seat. Bounded north by Kinney, east 
by Za valla and Dimitt, south by Webb and west by Mexico. The old 
San Antonio road to Presidio passes through this county ; it is a stock- 
raising county. The International railroad has located large bodies of 
land in this county. Population in 1870, 1,951; assessed value of property 
in 1876, $205,323. 

96. M'CuLLOCH.— Created in 1856; organized in 1876; named for Ben. 
M'Culloch; Brady City is the county seat. Bounded north by Col«man, 
east by San Saba, south by Mason and west by Concho. It is an agricul- 
tural and stock-raising county. It has an elevation of about 1,800 feet; 
Brady City is 140 miles from Austin and 150 miles from San Antonio. Pop- 
ulation in 1870, 173; assessed value of property in 1876, $19,840. Brady's 
creek, a bold mountain stream, runs centrally through it from west to east; 
the San Saba through its southern limits, with numerous small creeks and 
bold spi-ings in all sections. A large portion of the county is divided into 
highlands- (so-called mountains), and beautiful valleys. The whole is 
covered with mesquite grass, and it has an abundance of short timber. No 
better county for stock, and its valleys are fine for farming. 

97. M'Lennan. — Created from Milam, Limestone and Navarro, in 1850; 
named for Neil M'Lennan, an old settler. Bounded north by Bosque and 
Hill, east by Hill and Limestone, south by Falls and west by Bell and 
Coryell ; Waco is the county seat. A village of the Waco Indians formerly 
occupied the site of the present city. In 1830, that village was captured and 



682 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

burnt by the Texans, under Abner Kuykendall. In 1834, A. M. Stroud 
was authorized by President Houston to open a trading house at the vil- 
lage. About the time of annexation, the Messrs. Torry established a 
trading house there. The town was laid out by George B. Erath, in 1849. 
Lots then sold for $5 each; but raised the next year to $10. Captain Eoss 
established a ferry across the Brazos, and settlers began to flock to the 
place. The county was created in 1850. By raih-oad, Waco is 187 miles 
from Houston. This is a splendid county of land, producing corn, cotton 
and wheat in the greatest abundance. It is healthy, well "watered, aud has 
a fair supply of timber. Population iu 1870, 13,500; assessed value of pro- 
perty in 1876, $4,829,991. 

98. M'MuLLEN. — Ci'eated 1858; named for John M'Mullen, Empresario; 
Tilden (formerly Colfax and Dogtown), is the county seat. Bounded north 
by Atascosa, east by Live Oak. south by Duval, and west by La Salle. It is 
watered by the San Miguel, the Frio, and Nueces rivers. It is a stock- 
raising county, but sparsely settled, aud recently organized. 

99. Medina. — Created from Bexar, in 1848; named for the river of the 
same name ; Castroville, for Henry Castro, is the county seat. Bounded 
north by Bandera, east by Bexar and Atascosa, south by Frio and west by 
LTvalde. It is a farming aud stock-raising county. In February, 1842> 
Henry Castro entered into a contract to introduce 2,000 colonists into the 
Republic. On the first of March, 1844, several hundred of them arrived 
at Castroville. Three days later the cornei'-stone of a Catholic church was 
laid by Bishop Odin. Population of the county in 1870, 2,078; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $855,679. Castroville is thirty miles west of Sau 
Antonio. 

100. Menard. — Created in 1858; named for M. B. Menard, one of the 
founders of Galveston ; Menardville is the county seat. Bounded north by 
Concho, east by M'CuUoch and Mason, south by Kimble, and west by 
Crockett. This, at present, is a sparsely-settled county of small farmers 
aud stock-raisers. It was on the San Saba river iu this county, that the old 
San Saba Mission and silver mine existed. The mission was founded in 1734, 
by missionaries from Santa Fe, and broken up by the Indians in 1758. The 
bottom lands in the county are very rich, and capable of irrigation. Popu- 
lation in 1870, 667; assessed value of property in 1876, $85,500. 

It is located upon the Sau Saba river, which stream flows throughout the 
county from west to east, whilst other streams, as Otter creek, Bowie, Camp, 
Crawford's, Elm, Howard's, and numerous smaller creeks, tributaries of the 
San Saba, and in the northern jDortion branches of Brady's creek, afford 
plenty of pure water. The surface of the country is hilly, and in places 
quite rocky; there are fine valleys along the banks of the San Saba river? 
but they are not very extensive, and altogether this county is more favora" 
ble to the stock-raiser than the farmer. It presents an excellent range for 
horses, sheep and cattle generally. The county is w^ell supplied with tim- 
ber of the same kind as found iu Kimble county. 




VIEW OF SAN ANTONIO IN 1878. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 685 

The ruins of the old Spanish fort, '' Sau Saba," are near the center of 
this county; on the north bank of the river bearing- the same name, the tra- 
ditional old silver-mine was located in this neighborhood. 

Fort McKavitt is situated in the western portion of this county, on the 
south bank of the San Saba. 

101. Milam. — One of the original municipalities ; named for B. R. Milam ; 
Cameron, for John Cameron, is the county seat. Bounded north by Bell 
and Falls, east by Robertson, south by Burleson and Lee, and west by Wil" 
liamsou. This was in the Lettwich, afterward the Robertson grant. During 
the Colonial period, the town of Viesca, with a four-league grant, was laid 
out at a point on the Brazos river where the old Comanche trail crosses that 
stream. The place was afterward called Nashville, and occupied by the 
family of Mr. William Thomson. It is near where the International Rail- 
road crosses the river. December 27th, 1835, the Executive Council at San 
Felipe created the Municipality of Milam. In 1836, Massilon Farley was 
Chief Justice. The town of Cameron was laid out in 1840. The county is 
rich in soil, well watered, has an abundance of timber. Rockdale, on the 
railroad, is thirty miles southwest of Hearne, and fifty-eight northeast of 
Austin. Population in 1870, 8,984; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$1,936,661. 

It is watered by a number of creeks, of large size, which unite and form 
Little river. The surface is rolling, and in many places black, hilly and 
broken; timber consists of a variety of oak, cedar, ash, and other species, 
being principally confined to the bottom lands; there is, however, an 
abundance for ordinary jjurposes. A large portion of the soil is dark, rich 
and productive ; corn and cotton are the chief productions ; wheat and other 
small grains are raised successfully. Water, more or less impregualed with 
minerals, and frequently hard to obtain by digging; health generally good. 

102. Montague. — Created in 1857 ; named for Daniel Montague, a pioneer 
surveyor; Montague is the county seat. Bounded north by Iiidiau Territory, 
east by Cooke, south by Wise, and west by Clay. It is in the miueral region, 
but has some good arable land on Red river. A silver mine is said to have 
been found a few miles northwest of the town. Victoria Peak is a 
pi'ominent feature in the landscape. Population in 1870, 890 ; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $541,562. 

103. Montgomery. — Created from Washington and Nacogdoches, in 1837; 
named fur General Montgomery. Montgomery is the couuty seat. B jundcd 
north by AYalker, east by San Jacinto and Liberty, south by Harris, and 
west by Grimes. This is well watered by the San Jacinto river and its trib- 
utaries; has an inexhaustible supply of timber; and is an excellent agricul- 
tural county. The Houston and Great Northern Railroad passes tln-ongh 
the county. Willis is forty-eight miles north of Houston. Population of 
county in 1870, 6,483; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,477,744. 

104. MoRRiss. — Created from Titus in 1875; named for W. W. Morriss; 



686 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Dangerfielcl, named for Henry Dangerfleld, Secretary of War under Hous- 
ton's' second administration, is the county seat. Bounded north by Red 
river and Bo^yic, east by Cass, south by Marion and Upshur, and west by 
Camp and Titus. Dangerfield is on the East Line Railroad, thirty miles 
northwest of Jefferson. Assessed value of property in 1876, $411,776. Its 
characteristics similar to those of Cass and Upshur. 

105. Nacogdoches. — From Naugdoches, an extinct tribe of Indians. 
Bounded north by Rusk, east by Shelby and San Augustine, south by An- 
gelina, and west by Cherokee. A Franciscan mission, for the Naugdoches 
Indians, was projected by Ramon in 1715, but perhaps it was a year later 
before it was actually commenced. The old stone house was built for a fort- 
ress in 1778. In 1800 the first Americans settled in the neighborhood. They 
were Captain Dill and his son-in-law, Joseph Darst, Samuel Davenport, 
Robert Barr, etc. In July, 1812, the place was occupied by the Republicans 
under Magee ; and again in June, 1819, Long took possession of the town and 
organized°an Executive Council, consisting of Horatio Bigelow, Hamlin 
Co'ok, John Sibley, S. Davenport, Stephen Barker, John C. Burnett, J. 
Child, Pedro Procillo and Bernardo Gutierres ; and for a short time a news 
paper was published. The region around Nacogdoches was granted to 
Haydeu Edwards to colonize, but this was broken up by the Fredonian out- 
break, and the contract given to David G. Burnet. In 1833, Decree No. 240 
gave the town four sitios of land. In 1831, the District of Nacogdoches 
was formed, including all the terrritory between the San Jacinto and Sabine 
rivers. Henry Ruig was Political Chief. This was the headquarters of 
East Texas, and in 1835 a Committee of Safety was formed, consisting of 
Frost Thorn, Sam Houston and T. J. Rusk. Redford Berry was the last 
Alcalde. In 1836, Charles S. Taylor was Chief Justice. During the Repub- 
lic, a law firm in' Nacogdoches was formed by Pinckney Henderson, T. J. 
Rusk and K. L. Anderson. Population of the county in 1870, 9,614; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $1, 060,099. 

The agricultural products are corn, cotton, every variety of grain, potatoes, 
peas, pumpkins, etc.; the climate, mild and temperate; the soil in the bot- 
toms various, from the black stiff to sandy alluvial Of the uplands, one- 
fourth is a deep red soil, and the remainder a sandy soil. The seasons, 
very regular. There is timber of all kinds— oaks, hickory, black-jack, pine, 
wainutriirae, gum, sassafras, dog-wood. The rivers are the Angelina and 
Atoyac, which are the western and eastern boundaries of the county. Cot- 
ton is very productive, and from 1,000 pounds to a bale of seed cotton can 
be raised to the acre ; corn, from 20 to 40 bushels per acre, and wheat from 
10 to 20 bushels per acre. Rice and tobacco grow luxuriantly. Wood, for 
fuel and fencing, is abundant. The building material is pine. Butter, milk, 
cheese, eggs and poultry are very cheap. Hogs are very easily raised, with- 
out any expense, and bacon is saved without diflaculty. 

106. Navarko.— Created from Robertson in 1846; named for Jose Anto- 
nio Navarro. Corsicana is the county-scat. Bounded north by Ellis, east 
by Henderson, south bv Freestone and Limestone, and west by Hill. This 
is a fine agricultural and stock-raising county; Avell watered, and with a 



COU?fTY SKETCPIES. 687 

moderate supply of timber. Corsicana is two hiiudred and ten miles north 
of llauston, on the Houston and Texas Central Railway. Population in 
1870, 8,879 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $3,770,761. Climate mild; 
soil feitile; seasons often too dry, and sometimes too wet. Those farmers 
who ijvactice deep plowing, or sub-soiling, always secure good crops. 
There is a great deal of tine timber, and fine cedar-brakes of the red variety. 
The Trinity washes the north-eastern border of the county. Richland, one 
of its largest tributaries, Avith branches, waters nearly every part. Pastur- 
age good, and all kinds of stock do well. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, and 
tobacco are all cultivated here ; the two latter articles especially yield well. 
In many iocalities, wood for fuel and fencing is abundant; a good many 
farms altogether in the timber land. In some localities there is no timber, 
and the settlers in the prairies haul a considerable distance. As to building 
material, the people differ. They liave good clay for bricks, and some good 
brick buildings ; in some localities, plenty of limestone rock ; thousands of 
long, tall oaks, of half a dozen kinds; the elm, pecan, hickory, liackberrj^, 
walnut, sycamore, and various other forest trees common to this latitude 
and to calcareous soil; no pine nearer than the sandy lands, fifty miles east 
or seventy-five miles southeast. Butter, milk, cheese, eggs, and poultry 
abundant. Hogs ai-e easily raised by those living on the borders ot the 
timber, and near the rivers and creeks. Away from the timber land, the 
corn-cribis and the barley-stacks have to make liberal contributions, or the 
bacon hams will be small. Here bacon hams are as good as need be, and 
are savea sweet and kept for two and three years. 

107. Newton. — Created in 1846, from Jasper; named for Sei-geant New- 
ton of the American Revolution. Bounded north by Sabine, east by Louis- 
iana, south by Orange, and west by Jasper. This is one of the finely tim- 
bered counties* bordering on the Sabine river. Poj)ulation in 1870, 2,187 ; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $254,259. 

108. NuECEf*. — Created in 1846 ; named from the river of the same name. 
Corpus Christii is the county-seat. Bounded north by Live Oak and SaU' 
Patricio, east by the Gulf of Mexico, south by Cameron, and west by Buval. 
This is a large coast county, principally devoted to stock-raising. Corpus 
Christi is one hundred miles from Galveston by water, and is regularly 
visited by steamships. It has a railroad twenty-five miles to Banqneta. 
P. Dimitt wan one of the first Americans to settle in this county. This was 
in 1841, fifteen miles below the present town. In 1842, Kinney & Aubry 
commenced business at Corpus Christi; and this was General Taylors 
headquarters in 1846, before he removed to the Rio Grande. Lipantitlan, 
on the Nueces river, was occupied by Mexican troops in 1835, and captnred 
by Lieutenant Westover. Population of the county in 1870, 3,975 ; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $3,535,493. A number of streams flow through 
it into the Nueces river. The surface is undulating and sometimes level ; 
one-tenth part supplied with scrubby mesquite. The soil is of i-ich sandy 
loam, very productive wlicn there is a sufficiency of rain, and with early 
planting «jad deep cultivation very little raiu is required; and the same 



688 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

remark applies to nearly all the western coast counties. The bay bordering 

this county is a most beautiful sheet of water, and furnishes a great abund- 
ance of fish, oysters, etc., of the finest kind. Both health and water are 
goodc 

109. Okange. — Created in 1852; Orange is the county-seat. Bounded 
north by Jasper and Newton, East by Louisiana, south by Sabine Lake 
and Jefferson, and west by Jefferson. This is a heavily timbered county 
of South-eastern Texas; watered by the Sabine and Neches rivers and 
their tributaries. Sabine Pass is its shipping point. Orange is one hun- 
dred and five miles east of Houston, on the line of the Houston and New 
Orleans Railroad. Population of the county in 1870, 1,255; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $395,376. This county has the rather rare advantages 
of navigation, as'the Sabine and Neches are both navigable all the year to 
the full extent of this county, and every inhabitant is within fifteen miles of 
one or the other of these streams. The county is about equally divided 
between wood-land and prairie. Cotton and corn are the chief products, 
and are grown chiefly on fai-ms in the timbered part of the county. Tobacco 
and rice are also considerable products, the latter being grown on the low 
hammock lands. All kinds of vegetables, and peaches and gi'apes, are 
abundant. The prairies are covered with cattle, and some sheep and horses 
are raised. Oranges are also among the fruits raised in gardens. 

110. Palo Pinto„ — Created in 1856 ; Palo Pinto is the county-seat ; named 
for the river of the same name. Bounded north by Jack, east by Parker, 
south by Erath, and west by Stephens. This is a mountainous, stock-rais- 
ing county, watered by the Palo Pinto and Brazos rivers, and their tribu- 
taries. Fox and Wolf peaks are about two thousand feet above the sea 
level. Palo Pinto is about sixty miles west of Fort Worth. Assessed value 
of property in 1876, $371,736. The surface is undulating, often mountain- 
ous. The supply of timber consists in post-oak, live oak, and cedar, found 
in the bottoms. The soil is red loam, rich and productive everj^where, 
except upon the mountain ranges. Health and water remarkably good. 

111. Panola. — Created in 1846; the name is Indian. Carthage is the 
county-seat, which was laid out in 1817 or 1848. Bounded north by Harri- 
son, east by Louisiana, south by Shelby, and west by Rusk. Population in 
1870, 10,119; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,122,369. The surface 
is gently roUing and well watered by numerous springs and creeks, which 
flow into the Sabine in its course through the county. Inexhaustible quan- 
tities of pine are found in all sections; black walnut, oak of nearly all 
kinds, ash, hickory, and other varieties are also abundant. The soil is 
generally a sandy loam, its depth being from six to fifteen inches, with a 
foundation of red clay, or marl, which appears to be of nearly the same 
character as the red lands of Nacogdoches and San Augustine, and upon 
trial it has proved to be quite productive. The chief jn-oducts are cotton 
and corn, though wheat and other grains flourish well. The average yield 
per acre is eight hundreds pounds of seed cotton, and twenty bushels of 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 689 

corn. Peaches are abundant, and flourish finely daring favorable seasons; 
figs and plums are also cultivated and do well, and apples and jiears could 
doubtless be raised. 

112. Parker. — Created in 1865 ; named for the Parker family, of Parker's 
Fort; Weatherford is the county-seat. Bounded north by Jack and Wise, 
east by Tarrant, south by Hood, and west by Palo Pinto. This is a well 
watered county, somewhat mountainous, and interspersed with rich 
and productive valley lands; remarkably healthy, and well adapted either 
to agriculture or stock-raising. "Weatherford is about thirty miles west of 
Fort Worth. Population in 1870, 4,186 ; assessed value of property in 1876^ 
$1,551,333. Corn, wheat, rye, barley and oats are the principal products 
of the county. Experiments have been made in regard to raising tobacco, 
which have resulted very favorably, the article produced being heavy, and 
resembling the weed raised in Virginia. Climate is mild. The soil is of 
two kinds — the sandy loam and black land. The first kind, well cultivated^ 
produces the best crops of corn, while the latter produces more wheat. 
The wheat land produces generally twenty-five bushels per acre ; the cora 
land about fifteen to eighteen bushels. Nearly one-half o^' the land is tim- 
bered, the timber being suitable for feucing and rough houses. Building 
material consists of brick and rock. This county ranks second to none iu 
the State for water. The Brazos river runs through ibe county, and qaite 
a number of the tributaries of the Trinity river head in thi^s county , fine 
springs abound almost everywhere, and good wells can be had at. about 
twenty-two feet deep, at which depth there is generally found a white sand- 
stone rock. 

113. Pecos — Created in 1850; organized in 1875; named from the Pecos 
river. Fort Stockton is the county seat. Bounded north by Tom Green, 
east by Crockett, south by Mexico, southwest and west by Presidio and El 
Paso. This county has an area of 2,600 square miles ; watered by the Pecos 
river on the northwest and the Rio Grande on the south, both of which 
have numerous branches. The valleys of these rivers and of numerous 
creeks are capable of irrigation, and by irrigation they pi'oduce most luxu- 
riant crops. In 1877, there were about 8,000 acres so cultivated, and the 
quantity can be indefinitely increased. Fort Stockton is a military post in 
latitude 30 deg. 50 min. north; longitude 102 deg. 85 min. west from 
Greenwich. It is on Comanche creek, 374 miles northwest of San Antonio, 
with which it is connected by semi- weekly mail stages, and 147 miles north, 
east of Presidio Del Norte, on the Rio Grande, iu Mexico. It is 4,952 
feet above the sea level. A thousand or twelve hundred people live iu the 
neighborhood, and, by means of irrigating ditches, abundant crops are 
produced for their support and to supply tiie soldiers of the post. It has 
been but recently settled. Value of property in 1876, $20,120. 

114. Polk — Created from Liberty in 1846 ; named for J. K. Polk. Liv- 
ingston is tlie county-seat. Bounded north by Trinity, cast by Tyler, south 
by ilardiu, and west by San Jacuito. The surface is undulating; watered 



'690 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

by the Trinity and tributaries of the Neches ; possesses an abundance of the 
best of pine timber, and is a good agricultural county Swartwout, on the 
Trinity, is the principal shipping point, and is about 125 miles, by water, 
from Galveston. Population in 1870,8,707; assessed value of property in 
1875, $533,706. This is one of the finest and most wealthy counties of the 
State, [ts lands are of superior quality, and nearly all well adapted to 
farming. Cotton and corn are the leading products here, as iu all the lower 
counties. Some wheat and other cereals are raised. Sugar is being profit- 
ably grown by many of late years ; also tobacco and all other usual products. 
The wild grape grows abundantly in the wooded portion of the county. 

115. Presidio — Created in 1850. Fort Davis is the county seat. Bounded 
on the northwest by Pecos, south and southwest by Mexico, and the north- 
west by El Paso. Fort Davis is a military post, 5,000 feet above the sea 
level, 76 miles west of Fort Stockton and 450 from San Antonio. It is a 
canon of the Limpia creek. The valley, though narrow, is cultivated by 
irrigation, and produces well. Spencer's Rancho, on the Rio Grande, opposite 
Presidio Del Norte,, is 100 miles southwest of Fort Davis, It is reached 
through a mountainous region, with but two settlements on the route. 
Large bodies of rich land in the Rio Grande valley are capable of irriga- 
tion, if protection could be afforded to life and propertj\ Back from 
the river the mountains are precipitous, and incapable of cultivation, though 
the hills afford fine range for stock, especially sheep and goats. There are 
evidences that silver and lead ore exist in great abundance in the Chenati 
range of mountains. They were formerly worked by the Spaniards. Popu- 
lation of the county iu 1870, 1,636; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$181,420. This county, even since Pecos was taken from it, is as large as 
three or four of the smaller States of the Union. 

116. Rains — Created in 1870; Emory the county seat; named for Emory 
Rains. Bounded north by Hopkins, east by Wood, south by Van Zandt 
and Smith, and west by Hunt. It is watered by the head branches of the 
Sabine river, and is a fine agricultural county. Silver Lake is a station on 
the Texas and Pacific Railroad, near the southern line of the county, 118 
miles west of Shreveport. Assessed value of property iu 1876, $315,574. 

117. Red River — One of the original counties. It was formerly called 
Pecan Point. Bounded north by the Indian Territory, east by Bowie, 
south by Morriss, Titus and Franklin, and west by Lamar. There were set- 
tlements at Pecan Point, on Red river, as early as 1816-17. Among those 
settlers were the Wright family and a brother-in-law, Judge Martin, 
(killed by the Indians, and his son taken prisoner). A great many of 
Austin's colonists stopped on Red river and made a crop before entering the 
interior of the province. In 1831, B. R. Milam had a rancho on the I'iver, 
near the residence of Richard Ellis. Clarksville, the county seat, was laid 
out in 1835, and named for James Clark, an old settler. 1836, Richard Ellis 
represented that district in the Convention that declared the independence 
of Texas, and was Pi-esideut of the body. A. H. Latimer was also a mem- 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 691 

ber of the Convention. At the same period Judge Ellis' son represented 
IVIiller county in the Legislature of Arkansas, Both lived in one house. 
So also, James Latimer represented the same constituenc}' in the Arkansas 
Legislature. This produced no confusion; but when the Sheriff of Miller 
county, Arkansas, entered the county to collect taxes, in 1837, he was driven 
off by a mob. The citizens preferred to belong to Texas, as at that time no 
taxes were collected in the Republic. Red River is a fine agricuhural 
county, about three-fourths timber and one-fourth prairie. Clarksvillc is 
61 miles west of Texarkana, on the northern branch of the Texas and 
Pacific Railrood. Population of the county in 1870,10.653; assessed value 
of property in 1875, $1,686,865. 

118. Refugio — An original county. Refugio is the county seat. Bounded 
north by Goliad and Victoria, east by Calhoun, south by Aransas and San 
Patricio, west by San Patricio and Bee. The Mission of Our Lady of 
Refuge was founded in 1790, aiid four leagues of land given to the town. 
A portion of the adjacent country was afterward included in Powers' 
grant. In 1809, according to a report of a priest in charge of the Mission, 
the Caranchua Indians had in the neighborhood 5,000 head of cattle and 
considerable land in cultivation. The mission church was a fine building, 
with plate-glass, and a chime of bells dated 1751. It is a stock-raising 
county. Population in 1870, 2,320: assessed value of property in 1876, 
$872,872. The climate is both mild and healthy, this county being situ- 
ated on the Gulf shore, and embracing within herself Hyne's bay, S;m 
Antonio bay, Mesquite, St. Charles, Aransas, Copano, and Mission bays, and 
is dailj'^ visited during the summer months by the fresh sea-breeze. The 
soil is rich and fertile, consisting of Sea Island cotton land, black, stiff, hog- 
wallow, black sandy and blaok loamy land, and I'ich bottom land, upon 
which groAV post-oakj live-oak, black-jack, mesquite, and ou the bottom 
land pecan, ash, elm, anaqua, hackberry, box-elder and white oak. The 
rivers are the Sau Antonio, Aransas and Mission. The Blanco, Medio, 
Chocolate, AVillow and Salt creeks furnish abundance of water to the large 
herds of cattle and horses that, graze ou the extensive prairies, clothed with 
mesquite and other grasses. 

119. Robertson. — Created' from Milam in 1837; named for Sterling C. 
Robertson, Empresario. Bounded north by Falls and Limestone, east by 
Leon, south by Brazos and west by Milam; Calvert is tlie county seat. 
This county was ou one of the old routes of travel ; and during tlie Colonial 
period, there was a Mexican garrison and a few stores at Tcnoxticlan, ju<r, 
below the present line of the county. The Strouds lived near Calvert, and 
in the neighborhood, the AVheclock family, the Armstrongs, Cavitts, S. W. 
Hill, and others. John R. Henry had a stoi-e at Franklin. Ephraim Miltou 
lived near Dresden. The bottom lands ou the Brazos, Little Brazos and 
Navasotaare very rich; uplands undulating, and pretty well supplied with 
timber. Calvert is 128 miles north of Houston, on the Houston and Texas 
Central Railrotid. Population of the county in 1870, 9,990; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $3,276,169. The International Railroad passes diago- 
tially through this county, crossing the Texas Central at Hearnc. 



692 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

120. Rockwall. — A small, agricultural county, created in 1873: named 
for au underground wall found in sinking a well. Rockwall is the county 
seat. Bounded north by Collin, east by Hunt, south by Kaufman and west 
by Dallas, Assessed value of property in 1876, $454,811. 

121. Rusk. — Created in 1843 from Nacogdoches; named for Thomas J. 
Rusk. Bounded north bj'^ Gri"egg and Harrison, cast by Panola, south by 
Nacogdoches and west by Cherokee and Smith. Henderson is the county 
seat, and occupies the site of an old Shawnee village. Overton, on the 
International Railroad, is twenty two miles south-east of Lougview. The 
county has the greatest abundance of timber, and is watered by the tributa- 
ries of the Sabine and Angelina rivers. It is a tine agricultural county. 
PoiKihvtion in 1>>70, 16,916; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,005,640. 
The county has au inexhaustible supply of iron ore. A branch railroad, 
sixteen miles long, connects Henderson with Overton. There is an abund- 
ance of iron ore all over the county, and some specimens of coal or lignite, 
but no other minerals. There are some mineral springs, one near Mount 
Enterprise, which is considered very valuable, and is much resorted to by 
invalids for its healing qualities ; there is another south-east of Mount Enter- 
prise, some four or five miles distant, which is considered good in cases of 
dropsy and other diseases. The agricultural products are cotton, corn, 
wheat, rye, oats, barley, potatoes and tobacco. These are raised in large 
quantities, and for market. The Chinese and African sugai'-cane grow 
well, and most of the fanners make their own syrup. Rice is grown only 
by a few of the farmers. Buckwheat grows finely, and yields well, but very 
few i:)ersons raise it. The winters are variable ; there is sometimes snow 
and sleet, which generally melts in a day or two. The average of summer 
heat is about 80 degrees of Fahrenheit, The rains are generally seasona- 
ble, and crops never suffer much either from drought or excess of rain. 
The soil is generally sandy, but there are some gravelly red lands with 
clayey soil. The creeks and rivers are bounded by narrow bottom-lauds 
of alluvial soil. The county is covered over with all varieties of timber, 
such as different oaks, hickory, walnut, cypress, cane, pine and twenty 
other kinds. 

122. Sabine. — The municipality of Sabine was created by the Executive 
Council December 15th, 1835 ; Milam is the county seat. Bounded north by 
Shalby, east by Louisiana, south by Newton, and west by San Augustine. 
This is a heavily-timbered, agricultural county. Population in 1870, 3,256; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $326,061. 

123. San Augustine. — San Augustine is the county seat. Bounded north 
by Shelby, east by Sabine, south by Jasper and Angelina, and west by 
Nacogdoches. As early as 1826, there was an Alcalde's District on Ayish 
bayou. San Augustine was laid out by T. S. M'Farlaud in 1833. Decree 
No. 265, March 6th, 1834, created the municipality. The Aes, or Ayish 
Mission Dolores, was founded in 1717. The surface of the county is undu- 
lating ; well watered and timbered ; and the land is productive. Population 




COURT HOUSE AT AUSTIN, TEXAS. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 695 

in 1870, 4,196 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $978,384. The county 
of San Augustine is situated between the bayou Apolygotcli on tlie east and 
the Altoyac river on the west. In the central part of this county is a ridge 
of red lands, extending the entire length of the county ; the nature of this 
Soil is very excellent for farming, as it constitutes what geologists term a 
table-land of the richest upland in the State. A great portion of tliis red 
land has been cultivated for thirty years, and still yields an abundant har- 
vest of produce to the industrious laborer. The remaining lands are gray and 
very fertile. The county is intersected by never-failing sti'eams, every three 
or four miles, running from the north to the south. The lands immediately 
on these streams are bottom, and are similar to the delta lands of Louisi- 
ana, being of the most fertile character, and containing the same growth, 
namely, cypress, magnolia, oak, hickory, walnut, wild cherry, sumac and 
cane-brakes, which were originally almost impenetrable, but are now much 
thinned by the cattle. The bottoms vary in width from 100 yards to 1,000 
yards ; adjacent to the bottoms are generally to be found hummocks, with 
timber of a smaller character to the bottoms, with the exception of the ever- 
greens, c}'press, canes and white oaks. These hummocks constitute the 
finest upland farms in the State, when the locality is free from liability to 
wash. Between the bottom hummocks and the next bottom and hummock 
are found the finest pineries in the world, both the long and short leaf; 
occasionally may be found flats in these pineries, where may be seen fine 
post-oaks. The geological period is part of the limestone and the sand- 
stone; in the latter are to be found large deposits of shells, denoting the 
previous existence of a vast amount of animalcula. The products are corn, 
cotton, wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, pumpkins and peanuts. 

124. San Jacinto. — Created in 1870; Cold Springs the county seat. 
Bounded north by Trinity, east by Polk, south by Liberty, and west by 
Montgomery and Walker. This is a fine agricultural county, lying on the 
Trinity river. The Houston and Great Northern Kailroad passes along 
near the western line of the county. Assessed value of property in 1875, 
$479,921. 

125. San Patricio. — San Patricio the county seat. This was settled by 
Irish colonists introduced by M'Mullen & M'Gloin. Four leagues of land 
were given to the town. Decree No. 283, April, 1834, created the munic- 
ipality. The settlement was broken up during the Revolutionary period 
of 1835-36, but was re-established during the Republic. County bounded 
north by Live Oak and Bee, east by Refugio and Aransas, south-cast by 
the Gulf of Mexico, and south-west by Nueces. Population in 1870, 625; 
assessed value of property in 187G, $745,774. This is a coast and stock- 
raising county, between the Nueces river on the west and tlie Aransas on 
t}\e east. It has considerable very good land, but like Nueces county, the 
droughts of summer are too frequent to make agriculture a reliable or a 
profitable pursuit. There is but little cotton raised, and yet it has good 
lands for upland and sea-island cotton. The few inhabitants are all engaged 
in stock-raising, and in this pursuit they make largo profits, and eooa 

38 



696 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

become indcpenclent -with very little labor. They easily raise all they 
require of the necessaries of life; such as corn, potatoes, vegetables, etc., 
while the proceeds of the annual increase of their stock is nearly all clear 
profit. Nearly half the county is covered with timber, such as live-oak 
and various other growths, but mesquite is the principal. The only building 
lumber is imported through Corpus Christi, which is the place of trade. 
There is a peculiar feature in this county, called the " Brasada," being an 
area of upland of about thirty-one square miles. It is covered with a thick 
growth of mesquite, interspersed with chaparral and the prickly pear. The 
land is a rich, dark loam, and would undoubtedly produce well; but 
scarcely any of it is cultivated, owing to the labor of clearing and preparing 
the ground. The Nueces is a small but navigable stream up to San Patricio 
town, the only obstruction being the reef between Nueces and Corpus 
Christi bays. No county can surpass this in health. 

126, San Saba.— Created from Bexar in 1856; San Saba, on the river of 
the same name, is the county seat. Bounded north by Brown, east by 
Lampasas, south by Llano and Mason, and west by M'Culloch.* This is a 
hilly county, with some extensive cedar brakes. It is well adapted to wheat, 
etc. Population in 1870, 1,425 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $710,065. 
This county is situated about 100 miles north-west from the capital of the 
State, and bounded on the east by the Colorado river. The surface has the 
usual inequalities of the north-western counties; consisting of hills and 
valleys, the soil of the valleys being very productive. The county is well 
supplied with water by the Colorado and San Saba rivers, and their small 
tributaries, and by numerous fine springs. Some of the springs are of 
white sulphur water, and one of them is considered fully equal in its heal- 
ing properties to any in the United States. Considerable of the valley 
land may be easily irrigated, and this circumstance gives such lands great 
value. No more beautiful and productive farms can be found in the world 
than can be made in the San Saba valley, and from other irrigable lands in 
the county. The county is well supplied with all kinds of oak timber, elm, 
hickory, j)ecan, black cedar, etc. 

127. Shackleford.— Created in 1858; organized in 1875; Fort Griffin is 
the county seat; named for Dr. Shackleford, Captain in Fannin's command. 
Bounded north by Haskell and Throckmorton, east by Stephens, south by 
Callahan, and west by Jones. For ten years there has been a military post 
at Fort Griffin; but it is only recently that this county has begun to fill up 
with permanent settlers. The lands are very rich. Population in 1870, 
456; assessed value of property in 1876, $108,472. It is situated upon the 
Clear Fork of Brazos and Hubbard's creek, and includes a large portion of 
the very fertile valley of this stream. The Clear Fork enters the county 
from the west ; and taking up the Elm Fork, flows out into the north. The 
abandoned Fort " Fhantomhill," lies between these two streams, near 



♦ The old Mission and Fort of San Saba is in Menard county. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 697 

their junction, and near the west line of Shackleford county. Willow, Cor- 
nelius, Baker's, Bonito, Jews, Parody, Liud, Cruizbaur, Crosby's, Hanover 
iind Panther creeks drain the western portion of this county, and are tribu- 
taries of the Clear Fork. The east is watered by Asylum, or West Fork of 
Hubbard's creek, by James, Mills, Panther, McKinney, Foyles, Trout and 
many other ci*eeks, all furnishing clear and cool water. The " divide " 
between the waters of Clear Fork and those of Hubbard's creek is an ele- 
vated range of iiills, densely timbered, and affording plenty of limestone 
and sandstone rock for all building purposes. 

128. Shelby. — One of the original counties; name changed from Teueha 
to Shelby by Executive Council in January, 1835 ; named for General Shelby 
of Kentucky; Center is the county seat. When the name was changed, 
Emory Rains and James English were appointed Judges, and George O. 
Lusk, Chief Justice of the count}-. Bounded north by Panola, east by 
Louisiana, south by Sabine and San Augustine, and west by Nacogdoches. 
This is in what was formerly called the Red Lands, and the soil is very 
productive; undulating surface, well timbered. In 1842-45, this county' 
was very much disturbed by the conflicts between the " Regulators," who 
took the punishment of criminals into their own hands, and the " Modera- 
tors," who attempted to counteract the opposite iiarty. A good many lives 
were sacrificed before the supremacy of civil law was restored. Trade is 
carried on by water down the Sabine river, by steamboats. Population in 
1870, 5,732; assessed value of property in 1876, $823,546. There is some 
iron ore in this county, but it has not yet been tested as to its quality. 
There is also lignite coal. The agricultural products are corn, cotton, rye, 
oats, barley, Irish and sweet i)otatoes, tobacco, peas and all kinds of Tege- 
tables in abundance. Rice is also raised on the low, marshy lands ; also the 
ribbon and Chinese sugar-cane, from which an abundance of fine syrup is 
made ; but no sugar as yet, though this might easily be done. The products 
raised for market are chiefly cotton and tobacco. The climate is nearly the 
same as the other coast counties of Eastern Texas, mild and healthful, with 
snow and ice very rarely in winter. The seasons are generally favorable 
for crops; droughts sometimes, but not often, cut short the crops. 

129. Smith. — Created from Nacogdoches in 1846 ; named for General James 
Smith ; Tyler, for John Tyler, is the county seat. Bounded north by Wood 
and Upshur, east by Gregg and Rusk, south by Cherokee, and west by 
Henderson and Van Zandt. This is a wealthy and populous agricultural 
county, with an abundance of timber, good water and a rich soil. The 
sessions of the Supreme Court of the State for East Texas meet at Tyler, 
and also the United States District Court. Zavalla, on the International 
Railroad, is 35 miles southwest of Longview, and a branch road runs 
througli the county via Tyler, from Zavalla to Mineola, on the Texas and 
Pacific Railroad, near the northwest line of the county. Population iu 
1870, 16,532; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,452,283. 

130. Somervell. — A small agricultural and stock-raisng county, created 



698 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

in 1875; named for Alexander Somervell. Bounded north by Hood, east 
by Johnson, south by Bosque, and west by Erath. Glenrose is the county 
seat. It is on the Paluxy creek, two miles from the Brazos river. The 
county has an abundance of timber, and the best of soil and water. Assessed 
value of property in 1876, $182,313. 

131. Starr. — Created from Nueces in 1848; named for James H. Starr, a 
pioneer settler ; Rio Grande City is the county seat. Bounded north by 
Duval and Nueces, east by Hidalgo, southwest by Mexico, and west by 
Zapata. This is a stock-raising county of the southwest, though farming is 
carried on to a limited extent. It is a large county, having an area of over 
2,000 square miles. There is a military post at Ringgold Barracks, on the 
river, 130 miles from Corpus Christi. Rio Grande City is 100 miles from 
Brownsville. The river is navigable during most of the year to Roma in 
this county. Population, mostly Mexican, in 1870, 4,151:; assessed value 
of property in 1876, $981,666. 

« 

132. Stephens.— Created in 1858; named for A. H. Stephens, (formerly 
called Buchanan) ; Breckenridge is the county seat. Bounded north by 
Throckmorton and Young, east by Palo Pinto, south by Eastland, and west 
by Shackleford. It is a well-watered stock-raising county. Population in 
1870, 330 ; assessed value of property in 1876, $3, 390. 

This county contains some of the finest lands in Northwestern Texas» 
The valleys on Hubbard's creek are never forgotten by one who sees them. 
Level almost as a billiard-table, and covered with the finest of mesquite 
<yrass, which remains green nearly all winter, it would be difficult to find 
anything more beautiful and picturesque. East Hubbard's creek and its 
tributaries water the western and middle portions of the county. The east 
portion of the county is diversified with hills and valleys, with some fine 
running branches. The greater portion of the land was located and sur- 
veyed by the Texan Emigration and Land Company, or for the State Uni- 
versity and Asylum lauds. 

133. Tarrant.— Created in 1849; named for E. H. Tarrant; Fort Worth 
is the county seat. Bounded north by Wise and Denton, east by Dallas, 
south by Johnson, and west by Parker. It was taken from Navarro. 
Bird's Fort was settled about the time of annexation. It is a well-watered 
county, the Trinity river meandering tln-ough it ; and well adapted to stock- 
raising or agriculture. Fort Worth, 32 miles west of Dallas, is tlie present 
western terminus of the Texas Pacific Railroad. Populatiou of county, in 
1870, 5,788; assessed value of property in 1876, $3,454,603. 

134. Titus— Created from Red River, in 1846 ; named for an old settler ; 
Mount Pleasant is the county seat. Bounded north by Red River, east by 
Morriss, south by Camp, and west by Franklin. It is a well-timbered, 
well-watered agricultural county. Population in 1870, 11,339; assessed 
value of property in 1876, $672,158. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 699 

135. Tom Green.— Created in 1874 ; Ben Ficklin is the county seat. This 
Is an immense county in size, laid out in the mineral region of Western 
Texas. Ben Ficklin, (Fort Concho) is 215 miles northwest of San Antonio. 
It is a military post connected with San Antonio by regular mail stages. 
Colonel Shafter represents that there are in this county numerous springs of 
water, and that besides its undeveloped mineral wealth, it will become a 
good stock county. Assessed value of property in 1876, $95,700. 

Mrs. Taukersley's commodious stone resideuce is situated on the bank of 
the main Concho river, surrounded by extensive fields, which have been 
cultivated, though not very successfully, irrigation being required in this 
elevated latitude to make farming a success. A windmill which works a pump 
serves to irrigate sutficient land to supply the family with vegetables of a 
superior quaUty. The military post Fort Concho is now occupied as Gen- 
eral Grierson's headquarters. The post is situated in the forks of North 
Concho and Middle Concho, which, after uniting, form the main Concho. 
Thei-e are about 500 negro soldiers at the post at this time, officered with 
whites. The post is beautifully situated on an alevated plain. The officers' 
quarters, hospital, and other buildings are of stone. A number of the 
officers have tlieir families with them, and well-dressed ladies and beautiful 
and well-trained children are often seen in groups listening to the music of 
the band during dress parade. 

136. Travis. — Created from Bastrop, in 1840; named for William B. 
Travis; Austin, for Stephen F. Austin, is the county seat. Bounded north 
by Williamson, southeast by Bastrop, southwest by Hays, and northwest by 
Blanco and Burnet. In 1836, William Barton settled at Barton Springs, on 
the west side of the Colorado i-iver, where he died in 1840. In the same 
year that Barton settled on the west side of the river, the Hornsbys settled 
on the prairie which bears their name. Two years later a village called 

'Waterloo was laid out on the river. In 1839, Austin was selected as the 
<;apital by a commission appointed by the Texan Congress. On the very 
night in which the Commisioners visited Austin to locate the new capital, 
Mrs. Coleman and her son were killed by the Indians, near Hornsby's 
prairie. In 1840, the government was transferred to Austin from Houston; 
but in 1842, President Houston returned with his Cabinet to Houston, 
where Congress soon afterward assembled. The citizens opposed the 
removal of the government archives from their city^ and in 1844, the Land 
Office was reopened in that city. On the first of July, 1845, the officers of 
the government returned to Austin, whore they have remained ever since. 
Ti-avis county is a rolling prairie county, well adapted to agriculture or 
stock-raising. The buildings belonging to the different departments of the 
government occupy a commanding position on Capitol Hill. In the neigh- 
borhood of the city are located the asylums for lunatics, the blind and the 
deaf and dumb. Population of the county in 1870,13,153; assessed value 
of property in 187G, $11,677,943. Austin is 165 miles from Houston, on the 
Western Branch of the Texas Central Ilailroad, and is the present south- 
western terminus of the International llailroad, 260 miles from Lougview. 



700 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Travis county contains a great variety of soil, surface and timber. Some 
sections are rocky and mountainous, with Ijere and tlicre clusters of the 
various species of oak and cedar; while others are slightly rolling, and 
heavily timbered with live, post-oak and cedar. The bottoms are generally 
timbered with hickory, hackberry, elm, cypress, etc., but there is a large 
surface of prairie, dotted with farms in a high state of cultivation, and 
with extensive and expensive improvements. This county is well watered ; 
the streams Bee, Boggv, Bear, Barton, Bull, Shoal, Cow, Cross, Dry, Gille- 
land, Onion, Big and Little Walnut, Williamson, AVilbarger and Waller, all 
run through parts of it, all emptying into tlie Colorado. 

137. Tkinitt.— Created from Houston, in 1850. Pennington is the county 
seat. Bounded north bv Houston, east by Angelina, south by Tyler and 
Polk, and west by San Jacinto and Walker. The surface is undulating and 
covered with a dense growth of pine and other timber; well-watered by 
the Trinty and Neches rivers and their tributaries. Trinity station on the 
International & Great Northern Railroad, is S7 miles from Houston. Pop- 
ulation in 1870, 4,141; assessed value of property in 1876, $654,044. 

138. Tyler.— Created from Liberty in 18 46; named for Johu Tyler. 
Woodville is the countv-seat. It is one of the hcavily-timbcrcd, and well- 
watered counties of East Texas. Bounded north by Angelina, east by 
Jasper, south by Hardin, and west by Polk. Population in 1870,5,010; 
assessed value of property in 1876, $507,253. There is an excellent sulphur 
spring in the northern part of the county, near Mount Hope. It would be 
an excellent watering-place if conveniently fitted up and attended to prop- 
erly. The agricultural products of this county are corn, cotton, rye, oats, 
potatoes, peas, etc., all of which grow well and yield abmidantly. The 
climate is mild and pleasant, and the soil of almost every variety and 
quality ; black bottom, gray, sandy bottom, black prairie, hummock, etc- 
The seasons are gencrallv regular, and a failure of crops on account of 
floods or drought is exceedingly rare. Timber is plenriful, and of the best 
qualitv, and of everv varietv. Tlie Neches river bounds the county on the 
north and east, and is navigable generally from four to six months in the 
year for small boats. There are numerous fine creeks traversing the county, 
and anv number of springs and branches, making this county one among 
the best-watered counties in the State. The pasturage is inferior, and cattle 
and horses do not do well upon it ; hogs and sheep do well. But very httle 
wheat has been i-aised here, though as far as the experiment has been madp 
it has done well. Rve, oats, and tobacco are raised successfully, and lu 
considerable abundance. Pine is the best building material. A family cau 
live here comfortably and cheap— as much so as in almost any other portion 
of the world. Bntter, milk, cheese, eggs, poultry, etc., can be had in 
abundance, as there is no market for them. It costs but little to raise hogs,, 
as the mast is usually good ; bacon is saved without loss or trouble. 

139 Upshuk.— Created from Harrison and Nacogdoches in 1846. Gilmer 
is the countv-seat. Named for Abel P. Upshur of Tyler's cabinet. It is. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 701 

bounded north by Camp, east by Marion, south by Gregg and Smith, and 
west b} Wood. During the colonial period this section of country was 
occupied by the Cherokee and Caddo Indians. In 1835 Mr. John Cotton 
settled on Big Cow bayou, and the next year Isaac Moody settled ou the 
Cherokee tract. O. T. Boulware established a trading-post near Mr. Cot- 
ton's, in 1838. Alter the Cherokees were expelled in 1839, the country 
rapidly settled up. The land is well adapted to agriculture, is well Avatered, 
and has an abundant supply of timber. The Texas and Pacific railroad 
passes through the southern part of the county, having a station at Big 
Sandy. Population in 1870, 12,039; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$959,449. The soil, for the most part, is a sandy gray loam, varying in 
depth from one to ten feet, and is very productive. Corn, cotton, wheat, 
rye, oats, bari \v, rice, tobacco, and potatoes, when properly cultivated and 
planted, yield an abundance. As an average, on uplands, the yield of corn 
is about 'fifteen bushels per acre; cotton, seven hundred pounds; wheat, 
from seven to ten bushels. The county generally is covered with a dense 
growth of forest trees, among which predominate oaks of every variety, 
hickory and pine. The latter is used for building purposes entirely, though 
occasionally a brick edifice appears. With few exceptions, the county 
supplies its own provisions, on account of the ease with which bacon is 
saved. But few have large stocks of cattle, for want of winter range. 
With the essentials of life, such as the produce of the barn-yard, dairy, etc., 
every household is bountifully supplied. The county is watered by the 
Sabine, the two Cypresses, and Sandy creek, the latter a tributary of the 
Sabine, abounding in fish at all seasons. Good freestone water is to be 
had everywhere by digging from ten to forty feet, and fine springs are 
occasionally to be found; but, as a general rule, their waters are not used, 
as well-water is cooler. 

140. Uvalde.— Created from Bexar in 1850, and named for a Mexican 
Colonel, who gained a victory over the Indians in the Uvalde canon. 
Uvalde is the county-seat. Bounded north by Edwards and Bandera, east 
by Medina, south by Zavalla, and west by Ivinney. The county was settled 
in 1850, by Messrs. Ware, Hill, Kobinson, Angler, Thompson, Beading, 
Black, and others. About two-thirds of t|ie county is prairie; the soil is 
good, and in the creek valleys, susceptible of irrigation. It is a fine stock 
county. Uvalde is sixty-five miles west of San Antonio. Population in 
1870,851; assessed value of property in 1876, $650,586. This county is 
very well watered by the Sabiual, Comanche, and Leona streams, with a 
few others, and has great advantages for stock-raising, on account of its 
fine grass and stock-water. Fort Inge is in the southern part, on the Leona. 
It is^'not adapted to agriculture, though there are some fine lands, but the 
seasons are too dry. 

141. Van Zandt.— Created in 1848, and named for Isaac Van Zandt. 
Wills is the county-seat. It is bounded north by Hunt and Ilains, cast by 
Smith, south bv Ilenderson, and west by Kaufman. The surface is rolling ; 
is well watered, and pretty well supplied with timber, and the soil is pro- 



702 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ductive. Wills, the new county-seat, is one hundred and forty miles west 
of Shrevesport, on the Texas and Pacific raih'oad. The population of the 
county in 1870, was 6,444; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,454,497. 

142. Victoria. — Bounded north by De "Witt, east by Jackson, south by 
Calhoun, and west by Goliad. Victoria is the county-seat. It is conjectured 
that the Mission San Francisco was commenced on the Gurcitas creek, in 
this county, in 1690, by Alonzo de Leon, as some old works still remain 
there. In 1714, Don Domingo Ramon founded the Mission of " Our Lady 
of Guadalupe," at Mission Valley, f)artly for the benefit of the Tonkawa 
Indians of the neighborhood, who then cultivated some land and possessed 
horses and cattle, and partly to irrigate the valley for cultivation. The 
county was included in the empresario grant of Martin de Laou, and the 
settlement received the name of De Leon's Ranche. In 1825 four leagues of 
land were set apart for the town of Victoria. In 1835, the judges appointed 
by the Convention were Placido Benevedes and Francisco Cardinas; 
commissioners, Sylvester deLeon, and J. M. Caravahal. In 1836, John 
M'Henry was Chief Justice. John Linn was Alcalde. Both these gentle- 
men are still (1878) living in the county. Before the Revolution the 
De Leon family were said to have been worth a half million of*dollars. 
The county is level and mostly prairie ; and well adapted to agriculture 
and stock-raising. Victoria is forty miles from Indianola, on the M. G. & 
R. G. R. R. Population of county in 1870, 4,860 ; assessed value of prop- 
erty in 1876, $2,088,548. 

143. "Walker — Created from Montgomery in 1846 ; named for Robert J. 
"Walker, of Tyler's cabinet. Huntsville is the county seat. Bounded north 
by Madison and Trinity, east by San Jacinto, south by Montgomery^ and 
west by Grimes. The principal State penitentiary is at Huatsville, which 
is connected by a branch railroad with Phelps, on the H. & G. N. Railroad, 
seventy-five miles from Houston. Surface of county undulating; well 
watered and timbered. Population in 1870, 9,776 ; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $1,518,523. 

144. "Waller — Created principally from Austin in 1873 ; named for Edwin 
"Waller. Hempstead is the county seat. It is fifty miles from Houston, on 
the Houston and Texas Central Railroad, and from this place the "Western 
Branch road leaves the Central for the city of Austin, 115 miles distant. 
Bounded north by Grimes, east by Harris, south by Forth Bend, and west 
by Austin. This county has an immense body of rich land on the Brazos 
river and its tributaries ; surface flat, but affording, in the prairies, fine 
range for stock. Assessed value of property in 1876, $1,622,192. 

145. "Washington. — Brenham, named for Dr. R. F. Brenham, is the county 
seat. Bounded north by Lee and Burleson, east by Grimes, south by 
Austin, and west by Fayette. In 1821, a ferry was established at "Washing- 
ton by Andrew Robinson and John "\Y. Hall, and the families of Gates, 
Kuykeiidall, Whitesides, Byrd and others settled ii; the neighborhood. The 




METHODIST CHTTRCII AND PARSONAGE, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 705 

first land cultivated was at Clay Place, near Independence, in 1822, by 
Martin Vernor and Moses Shipman. Thers wei'e in the neighborhood the 
Clampit, Ileiisley, Cooper, Ross, York, 'NVa.lker, Stei)henson, Hope, Law- 
rence and other families. The first tract of land run off in Austin's colony 
was by II. Chriesman, October 1st, 1823 — the tract settled and still occu- 
pied (1878) by Amos Gates. In 1828, J. P. Cole became Alcalde, and he was 
Chief Justice in 1836. The county originally extended to the Trinity on 
the east, and from Harris on the south to the old San Antonio road on the 
north. It is one of the wealthiest and most populous counties in the State. 
Population in 1870, 23,104; assessed value of property in 1876, $4,736,884. 

146. "Webb — Created from Nueces in 1848; named for James Webb. 
Laredo is the county seat. Bounded north by Maverick and Dimitt, east 
by La Salle and Encinal, south by Zapata, and west by Mexico. Laredo is 
140 miles west of Corpus Christi and 165 miles southwest of San Antonio. 
It was settled by Mexicans in 1740. In 1767, Governor Pelacios, of New 
Santander, visited the place and distributed 'land to the settlers. To each 
family he gave a lot in the town and a tract on the Rio Grande, 1,000 yards 
in front and 30,000 in depth'. Tomas Sanches was appointed Alcalde. 
Friendly relations wei'e established with the Indians. The laws of the 
Republic were never extended over the territory west of the Nueces 
river. In 1842, Laredo was, for a short time, occupied by General Som- 
ervell, in command of the Texas troops. In 1846, it was again captured 
by Captain Gillespie, of the Rangers, when on the way to join General 
Taylor at the mouth of the river. In 1847, it was occupied by the soldiers 
of the United States, under General Lamar. Since that time it has been 
under the jurisdiction of the State. It is adapted to stock-raising. Popu- 
lation in 1870, 2,615; assessed value of property in 1876, $432,661. 

147. "Wharton — Created in 1846 from Colorado, Jackson, and Matagoi-da 
counties; named for ^V'illiam II. and J. A. Wharton. Wharton is the county 
seat. Bounded north by Colorado and Fort Bend, east by Fort Bend, south 
by Matagorda, and west by Jackson. "Wharton, the county seat, was settled 
by the Kincheloe family in 1822. The lands on Old Caney and Peach 
creeks and th.e Colorado river are considered equal to any in the State. 
About one-half of the county is timbered and the other prairie. East Ber- 
nard Station, on the Sunset Railroad, is sixty miles west of Houston. 
Population in 1870, 3,426; assessed value of property in 1876, about 
$500,000. The principal products arc corn, cotton and sugar. 

148. "Williamson — Created from Milam in 1846; named for R. M. Wil 
liamson. Georgetown, named for George W. Glasscock, is the county seat. 
Bounded north by Bell, east by Milam, south by Lee and Travis, and west 
by Burnet. The surface is undulafing; one-third tinil^cr, rich soil, and 
well watered. Round Rock, on the International and Great Northern Rail- 
road, is seventeen miles northeast of Austin. Poi)ulation of the county iu 
1870, 6,368; assessed value of property in 1876, $2,809,464. 



706 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

149. Wilson.— Created ill 1860; named for James C. Wilson. Floresville 
is the county seat. Bounded north by Bexar and Guadakipe, east by Gon- 
zales, south by Karnes, and west by Atascosa. The surface is gently undu- 
lating; pretty well supplied with timber, and well adapted to agriculture or 
stock-raising. Population in 1870, 2,556 ; assessed value of property in 1876, 
$830,915. The people derive their income about equally from farming 
and 'stock-raising. The soil is generally good and well watered, and the 
timber sufficieut'for fencing, but the best building material is a fine quality 
of stone. There are some five or six sulphur springs of superior quality, 
and much resorted to by invalids. Corn and cotton are the leading staples 
here, as elsewhere in the State. Sugar-cane is grown, and tobacco succeeds 
well. Grapes and peaches abound; other fruits are also raised. The San 
Antonio river passes through this county ; which, with the Cibolo and some 
smaller streams and springs, supply the county with water. 

150. Wise.— Created in 1846 from Denton and Cooke; named for Henry 
A. Wise. Decatur is the county seat. Bounded north by Montague, east 
by Denton, south by Tarrant and Parker, and west by .Jack. This county is 
in the ''• upper cross-timbers ;" watered by the west fork of the Trinity river ; 
and contains large bodies of excellent prairie and timber land. Foi-t Worth, 
fifty miles from Decatur, is the nearest railroad station. Population in 
1870, 1,450 ; assessed value of property in )876, $897,096. Decatur is situa- 
ted some five miles northeast from the center of the county, on a tall hill 
overlooking the broad prairie known as the " Grand Prairie," extending 
from the '-lower" to the " upper cross-timbers," and spreading itself over a 
rich and fertile country, covering the principal portion of the eastern half 
of the countv, as well as the '' upper cross-timbers," spreading themselves 
entirely over the West Fork valley, the eastern border of which reaches to 
within one mile of town, covering the entire western portion of the 
county. The West Fork of the Trinity river is a considerable stream ; Sandy 
enters the county five miles east of the northwest corner; Denton creek 
enters the countv fourteen west of the southeast corner; CattelFs creek 
rises about three miles north from Decatur; Sweet-water rises about two 
miles southeast from town and intersects Cattell's about eight mdes east; 
Oliver rises about five miles southeast from town, and crosses the east line 
of the county nine miles north from the southeast corner. The latter three 
are perpetual running sreams, of pure, cool, and clear water, fed by numer- 
ous snrincrs issuing from the banks, generally not more than a half or three- 
quarters o°f a mile apart. Good well-water may be obtained almost anywhere 
by digging from fifteen to twenty-five feet deep. The face of the county is 
hio-h and broken. The streams have immense fall, and the banks are high, 
rendering even the creek-bottoms entirely free from overflow, and hence 
entirely free from those impurities which originate in localities where stag- 
nated water is common. The climate is delightful. The winters are mild, 
except occasional " northers," which are rather severe, but seldom last 
loncrer than twenty- four or thirty-six hours. In summer, we nearly alwaya 
hav°e a cool and exhilarating south breeze astir. The soil is varied from the 
rich loam of the valleys and fertile black lauds of the high prairies to the 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 707 

chocolate-sandy in the post-oak woods. The principal timber is post-oak, 
burr-oak, pecan, walnut, white or cedar-elm, red-elm, cotton-wood, Spanish 
oak, and some short live-oak. Each running stream through the prairie is 
skirted along its banks with timber snfficient to furnish the prairie i^ortion 
with fuel and considerable fencing-timber. The county is more than half 
timbered. 

151. "Wood. — Created from Van Zandt in 1850; named for George T. 
Wood. Quitman is the county seat. Bounded north by Hopkins and 
Franklin, east by Upshur, soutli by Smith, and west by llains. Mineola, on 
the Texas and Pacific Railroad, is 111 miles westof Shreveport. Population 
in 1870, 6,894; assessed value of property in 1876, $1,150,705. Corn, cotton, 
wheat, oats, rye, barley, and potatoes are all produced in abundance ; corn 
and cotton take the lead. The climate of Wood county is the same of all 
the district lying between Trinity and Red rivers. The soil is of three varie- 
ties, namely, a dark ferruginous soil, a gray sandy soil, and a dark lime soil. 
The first embraces the best farming portion of the county, and includes the 
northern and northeastern portions of the county. The gray soil lies 
mostly on the eastern boundary of the county, and is famous for its first 
quality of pine timber. The black lime land lies west of the lake fork oi 
Sabine river, and includes a portion of prairie land finely adapted to farm- 
ing and grazing. The varieties of timber are oak, pine, hickory, ash, 
walnut, elm, bitter pecan, sweet gum, and maple. The Sabine constitutes 
the southern boundary of the county ; its tributaries are Big Sandy, Little 
Sandy, and Lake Fork; and the tributaries of Lake Fork inside of the 
county are Dry creek, Caney, Running creek, and Brushy. 

152. Young. — Created from Denton and Cooke, in 1856 ; named for "Wil- 
liam Cocke Young; Graham, for Augustus Graham, the proprietor, is the 
county seat. Bounded north by Archer, east by Jack, south by Palo Pinto 
and Stephens, and west by Throckmorton. This is one of the most desirable 
of the new counties in the northwestern portion of Texas ; having a large 
proportion of excellent arable land. Before the late war, a military post 
was kept up at Fort Belknap; and the Indian reserves were on the fine 
lands on the Brazos river, in tliis county. Graham was settled in 1875. It 
is a station for the United States Signal Service, and is destined to become 
an important city. Its altitude is about 1,000 feet above the sea level. 
Assessed value of propert}^ in 1876, $892,202. 

Corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley are the principal products of the county. 
Cotton is cultivated to a limited extent only, because the cereals pay better 
in consequence of a nearer market. From the Belknap mountain on the 
west is the rolling or undulating prairie, extending one hundred miles 
north to Red river. The top of Twin mountain, in the edge of town, com- 
mands a view around of some 25 or 30 miles, circling the lofty peaks of the 
Brazos, rich sublime and enchanting to the eye of the fortunate one. Think 
of 120 miles of river front in this county alone, necessarily affording 
thousands of acres of the richest bottom lands, beside abundant water. 
There are also a number of springs scattei-cd oyer the county. The sheep bus- 



708 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

iness is keeping pace with the progress of the age. Forty thousand head 
have been located within forty miles of Graham during the last six months — 
doing well, all of them. 

153. Zapata.— Created in 1868; named for a patriot Mexican who dis- 
tinguished himself in the war for the establishment of the Republic ot the 
Rio Grande. Bartolo is the county seat. Bounded north by Webb and 
Encinal, southeast by Starr, and southwest by Mexico. It is a stock-i'aising 
county on the Rio Grande. Population in 1870, 1,488; assessed value of 
property in 1876, $458,958. 



UNORGANIZED COUNTIES. 



Besides the vast territory included in what is called " the Pan Handle," 
there are seventeen unorganized counties, situated in different parts of the 
State. Some of these are rapidly settling up, and will soon be organized. 

1. Archer.— Created in 1858; named for Dr. Branch T. Archer. A late 
letter says : " On HoUiday creek, in Archer county, we found large bodies 
of rich valley land, not an acre as yet in cultivation. We found the best 
large body of land in our line of travel on this creek and its tributaries. 
From Ikard's we traveled up Beaver creek, passing over a rough country, 
covered with mesquite brush and mesquite grass. This section is well 
watered and affords good shelter in winter for stock, and is a fine stock 
country. There are some fine valley lands on Beaver creek, and enough 
timber for fire wood, but no fencing or building timber." Bounded east 
by Clay, south by Young, west by Baylor, and north by Wichita. 

2. Batlor.— Named for Henry W. Baylor ; bounded north by Wilbarger, 
east by Archer; south by Throckmorton, and west by Knox. Created in 
1858. Value of property in 1876, 816,610. It is drained nearly entirely by 
the Brazos river and its tributaries, Antelope, Miller's, Paint, and other 
creeks. The Big Wichita river passes through its northern limits from west 
to east. The soil is red loam, in many places with veins of gypsum. The 
county is generally well watered, although the elevated portion of the 
"divides "are sometimes dry, and the water of the Brazos, Big Wichita 
and some of their tributaries is, on account of its salt and brackish taste 
unfit for the use of man. An elevated narrow ridge divides the Brazos end 
Big Wichita, which streams run parallel for some distance, and are at the 
nearest point only seven miles apart. The timber is as described in Archer 
county. The general character of the county is an undulating prairie, and 
it is well adapted for pastoral and agricultural purposes. It will soon be 
organized. 

3. Concho.— Named from its principal river, Concho (shell) ; created in 
1858; value of property in 1876, $10,138. 

This county is situated upon the Avaters of Colorado and Concho rivers, 
west of McCulloch county. The northern half of this county comprises a 
beautiful prairie valley ; its prevailing timber and grass are mesquite ; wliilst 
the southern portion is hilly and broken. In this part of the county there 
is plenty of good timber, such as live-oak, post-oak, black-jack, etc., and 
good limestone rock for building purposes. 

The soil in the south of the county is black; in the northern parts, choc- 



710 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

olate and red loam. The principal streams are, the Colorado in the north- 
eastern corner, the Concho river, with its tributaries Kickapoo, Cottonwood? 
Eola, Snake, Erika, Blanch and other creeks; Brady's creek in the south, 
and another creek in the east of the county. Concho river is a beautiful 
stream of clear and pure water, here from fifty to seventy-five feet wide; it 
has in many places considerable fall, and could turn a great amount of 
machinery. ' Along this river there is a considerable quantity of walnut, 
pecan, elin, post-oak and other timber; timber of the same kind is also 
found along the Colorado and the smaller streams of this county, but in less 
quantity. °There are a great many fine and bold running springs of pure 
water in the county; in fact, the Concho and all its principal branches are 
fed by innumerable springs. Concho will be a good grain producing 
county ; but in stock-raising, particularly sheep, it will not be surpassed. 
It will soon be organized. 

4. Crockett.— Named for David Crockett; created in 1875. Bounded 
on the north by Tom Green, east by Menard, Kimble and Edwards, south 
by Kinney, and west by Presidio. This is a very large county in what is 
called the mineral region. The Llano, Nueces and Devil's rivers have their 
sources in the mountainous region of this county. 

5. DnnTT.— Named for Philip Dimitt; created in 1858; value of property 
in 1876, $4,000. Bounded north by Zavalla, east by La Salle, south by 
Webb, and west by Maverick. This county is traversed by the Nueces 
river and is well adapted to grazing purposes. 

6. Edwards.— Named for Hay den Edwards; created in 1858. Bounded 
north by Kimble, east by Kerr, south by Bandera and Uvalde, and west by 
Crockett. It is rapidly settling up and will soon be organized. 

It is situated upon the head-waters of the Rio Frio, the Medina, Guada- 
lupe, the east fork of the Nueces and Paint Rock creek, a tributary of the 
Llano river, and lies west of Kerr and Bandera counties, being situated on 
the border of the plains, and is the fountain-head of the above-named 
streams. The surface of this county is very broken and cut up in rocky 
hills and ravines. 

Some valleys along the above streams and their tributaries, afford all the 
land suitable for cultivation, but the whole presents a very good stock- 
range. 

7. Encinal— Means in Spanish, oak grove; created in 1858. Bounded 
north by La Salle, east by Duvall, south by Zapata, and west by Webb. 
This is in the stock-raising region of Southwestern Texas. 

8. Hardeman.— Named for Bailey Hardeman ; created in 1858. Bounded 
north by Greer, east by Wilbarger, south by Knox, and west by Cottle and 
Childress. 

The soil of Hardeman county is a red loam, in places more or less sandy. 
It sustains a luxuriant growth of gamma and mesquite grass, even during 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 711 

ihe dry seasons of 1856 and 1857, The timber is scanty, and consists, along- 
the water courses, of elm, hackberry, cottonwood, wild China, and on the 
hills, of mountain cedar. 

If less favorable as a farming county, the county will do very well for 
stock-rising, as cattle and horses are fond of the salty river- water. 

A land locater writes: " A few miles west of Wanderer's creek are four 
high mounds or peaks, from which we could see the surrounding country 
for miles. The tops of these mounds are covered with juniper cedar, and 
none of them more than fifty yards in circumference, the tops being a bed of 
gypsum, perfectly white, and in many places made smooth by the Indians, 
who call these hills their medicine mounds, and the sick ones sleep on top 
of them and use water from a gypsum or mineral spring near one of them. 
These hills are called by the whites in this -vicinity Prairie Dog Mountains. 
"We found Groesbeck creek, the first above Wanderer's creek, filled with 
fine fish. It is a bold, running stream, there had been no rain here for two 
months. The water in this creek was pretty, sparkling and clear, but so 
strongly impregnated with gypsum that Ave found its efiects on us to be 
similar to croton oil. We found two caves near the head of this creek, and 
explored them for some distance. The walls were of gypsum, very hard 
and white, the caves large. We found a natural bridge, one hundred feet in 
thickness, across a small creek running into Pease I'iver on the north side. 
The top of the bridge was about one hundred feet wide, the bottom three 
hundred feet, making a natural bridge for the buffalo to pass over. 

9. Haskell. — Created in 1860 ; named for Charles Haskell of Fannin's 
massacre. Bounded north by Knox, east by Throckmorton, south by 
Shackleford, and west by Stonewall. The following description is by M. 
Wickelaud, surveyor: 

**It lies upon the Brazos river; the Main Fork and Double Mountain 
Fork of this river enter the county from the west, and their confluence is 
near its north line. The Clear Fork of the Brazos touches the southeast 
corner of Haskell county, whilst tlie other portions are well watered by 
Ateys, Paint, California, Perry's, Miller's, Antelope, Lake, and other creeks 
and their tributaries ; the water in the Main and Double Mountain Fork is 
unpalatable; there are also several ponds in the northern part of the 
county. 

" It is comparatively level, mostly undulating, mesquite prairie, though 
the northwestern portion of the county, along the Main Fork of the Brazos, 
is hilly. The hills on the north side of that stream attain a considerable 
elevation. 

" The soil is a red loam, in many places with substrata of gypsum, of wliich 
there is a considerable quantity in the northwestern part of the county. I 
also found very rich specimens of copper ore in tliis n-gioii, of which I 
brought home, several times, as much as I could conveniently carry. 

" The timber in the county consists principally in mesquite, of which 
there are extensive forests, and of good quality ; there is also found along 
the stream shackberry, cottonwood, mulberry, chittam, willow, etc. ; and in 
the southeastern part of the county, live-oak, post-oak, elm, and pecan; 



712 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and along the Main Fork there is a, considerable amount of short 
cedar. 

10. Jones. — Named for Anson Jones; created in 1858. It is bounded 
north by Stonewall and Haskell, east by Shackleford, south by Taylor, and 
west by Fisher. 

It lies south of the above county, and exchasively upon the waters of the 
Clear Fork of Brazos. Some portions of tliis county are well-watered by 
the Clear Fork, Elm Fork, Evans creek (all clear and bold running 
streams), Hanover, Panther, and numerous other nameless creeks; other 
portions jire elevated and dry. The southwestern corner of the county 
includes some high ranges of hills, which break off in precipitous cliffs. A 
range of dry sand-hills, several miles wide, runs north of and parallel with 
the Elm Fork. 

The soil is a red loam, more or less sandy, turning darker in the south- 
eastern corner of the county; good building rock (sand and limestone), is 
found everywhere. The timber is mostly mesquite ; along the water-courses 
pecan, elm, hackberry, some jjost-oak, wild China, cotton-wood etc. ; and on 
the hills in the south, live oak and cedar are to be found. 

Fort PhantomHill(now unoccupied) lies on the eastern line. 

11. Knox. — Is said to have been named for a county in Ohio ; is bounded 
north by Hardeman, east by Baylor, south by Haskell, and west by King. 
Was created in 1858. We copy from Mr. Wickeland's description : 

" Knox county is supplied with plenty of water, but nearly all of it is 
most disagreeable to the taste, and some of it entirely unfit for the use of 
man. With the exception of some of the upper bandies of Antelope and 
Lake creeks, and numerous springs along the banks of the Brazos river, all 
the water in the county has a brackish, bitter taste. This is owing to the 
abundance of gypsum through all parts of the country. The water of the 
Big Wichita and Brazos rivers is also salty from the rich deposits of this 
article near their sources. 

" Croton Creek is remarkable for its clear water and great abundance of 
fish — chiefly catfish — from which it was named by the Indians, " Fish 
Creek." In the spring of 1856, I camped for several days with a surveying 
party on Croton creek, awaiting the arrival of the main camp; w'e were 
without provisions, and subsisted entirely on the fish and disagreeable 
water of '' Croton," and from the taste and other peculiarities of the water, 
the creek received its name. 

<' The coutry south of the Brazos is an extensive (slightly undulating) 
mesquite prairie. Northwest of that stream the country is hilly and in 
l)l:iccs very rugged and broken; a range of hills, running parallel with the 
Big AVichita, separates the Avater of this stream from that of the Brazos 
The basin of the Big Wichita river is narrow and cut up in ravines and 
deep gullies ; and the river, after winding its way through the mountains, 
meanders through a series of rich valleys averaging one and two miles in 
width. West of the Brazos, on both sides of Croton creek, is a remarka- 
ble group of hills, of which '* Kiomiy Peak,'" though not the largest, is one 




GOVERNOR'S MANSION. AUSTIN. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 715 

of the most prominent. It is formed like a bell, not more than ten feet 
across the top, and is composed principally of sandstone and gypsum. 
There are half a dozen disconnected peaks of similar form, whose elevation 
above the general level is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet. 
The gypsum is here predominant, and it is found in various formations, 
from the transparent selenite to the hardest alabaster. I have entered caves 
and ravines in this region, with walls of crystal, but was sometimes received 
by panthers and bears. 

'' The soil of this county is a red loam, in some places more or less sandy ; 
the rivers have quicksand beds, and are fordable only in a few places. 

^' The timber is chiefly mesquite, and on the hillsides some mountain cedar 
is to be found. The remaining stumps and roots indicate that there must 
have been extensive forests of this timber, and trees of the largest size that 
wei'e destroyed by fire. There is but little timber along the banks of the 
streams, only occasionally a grove of cedar, pos.-oak, hackberry, wild 
China, cottonwood, etc. About half of the county will make a very good 
grain country, but the whole is a most excellent range for horses, sheep, and 
cattle." 

12. La Salle. — Named for Mous. De La Salle; created in 1858. It is 
bounded north by Frio, east by M'Mullen, south by Encinal, and west by 
Webb and Dimitt. One of the grazing counties of the Southwest; watered 
by the Nueces and Frio rivers. Old Fort Ewell is near the Southern bound- 
ary of the county. 

13. Runnels. — Named for Hiram G. Runnels, ex-Governor of Mississippi. 
Bounded north by Taylor, east by Coleman, south by Concho, and west by 
Tom Green. Was created in 1868. In 1876, the assessed value of property 
was $1,280. It is well watered by the Colorado river and its tributaries — 
Oak, Fish, Valley, Mulatto, Spring, Red, Black, and Flora crocks — and in 
the South by some smaller branches of the Concho river. The Colorado is 
here at common stage of water — a clear, bold running stream ; the water is 
slightly brackish, still not entirely unfit for use ; all the smaller streams 
furnish plenty of pure water. 

The Southern half of the county is a comparatively level prairie, whilst 
toward the north and northwest the surface becomes elevated and hilly. 
The soil varies from a red loam to dark chocolate. There is a large amount 
of good land, and altogether this is an excellent county for pastoral and 
agricultural i)urposes. 

Timber is plentiful, especially in the northern part, and consists chiefly 
of mesquite, live-oak, post-oak, blackjack, walnut, pecan, hackberry, cotton- 
wood, etc. 

Fort Chadbourne is located upon the east bank of Oak creek, outside, 
but within a short distance of the western boundary of this county. 

14. Taylor. — Named for the Taylor family; created in 1858. Bounded 
north by Jones, east by Callahan, south by Runnels, and west by Nolan. 
A German colony has recently purchased land, and settled in this county. 

39 



716 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

It will soon be organized. The county comprises the country upon the 
head waters of the Clear Fork of Brazos, the sources of Pecan bayou, Jim 
Ned, and several other creeks, tributaries of the Colorado. The above 
streams furnish plenty of good water. 

Only about half of the lands of Taylor county may be recommended as 
good fo** farming purposes ; these include the valleys along the numerous 
streams, but the whole of it presents a superior stock-range. The section 
of the country north of the Clear Fork is elevated, hilly, and rocky; and 
there is another group of hills in the Southwestern corner, of which Church 
Ilountaiti is, perhaps, the most conspicuous. Portions of the county are 
thickly timbered with trees of the best kind and largest size — such as live- 
oak, post-oak, mesquite, and cedar ; the timber along the water-courses is 
in this and the adjoining counties all alike — pecan, hackberry, cottonwood, 
€tc. 

The soil in Taylor county varies from dark i-ed to chocolate and black 
sandy. The limestone formation is predominant, but there is also sand- 
stone in the hills around Church Mountain, and several other places. 

15. Throckmorton. — Named for Doctor "William E. Throckmorton; 
created in 1858. Bounded north by Baylor, east by Young, south by 
Stevens and Shackleford, and west by Haskell. 

The Clear Fork of Brazos is the principal stream ; it enters the county 
near its southwest corner, and meanders through the southern portion of it. 
Besides this, the county is watered by California, Paint, Moss, Cramps, 
Rust's, Crane, Hester's creeks, and other small branches; tributaries of the 
Clear Fork and Elm, Boggy, Race, Antelope, etc., creeks, tributaries of the 
main Brazos. The country along the Clear Fork and in the eastern portion of 
the county, is hilly, but the whole of it is well timbered. The timber con- 
sists of the same kinds described in Taylor county. The soil varies from 
red loam in the north of the county to black with a substratum of clay iu 
the southern portion along the Clear Fork. The county is well adapted to 
the production of wheat and small grain generally, and is a superior country 
for stock-raising. In fact, the region of country watered by the Clear Fork 
of Brazos and its tributanes is pre-eminently adapted to this business ; the 
cattle grow lai-ger and fatter, and it appears come to maturity about one 
year sooner than in other parts of the State. 

16. Wichita. — Indian name; created in 1858. Bounded north by Indian 
Territory, east by Clay, south bj^ Archer, and west by Wilbarger. 

17. Wilbarger — Named for the Wilbarger family ; created 1858. Bound- 
ed north by Indian Territory, east by Wichita, south by Baylor, and west 
by Hardeman, (Wickelanil). 

These counties are located on the south bank of Red river and Prairie- 
dog-town river, the former separating them from the Indian Territory. 
The character of land, water and timber is the same in both counties, and 
they are therefore described as one body. The surface of the two counties 
forms a nearly uninterrupted rolling prairie, covered with a heavy growth 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 717 

of luxuriant and nutritious grasses. Within the limits of "Wilbarger county, 
four miles above the northwest corner of AVlchita coijttty7 is the junction of 
Pease and Red rivers, and eight miles northwest^' the said corner is the 
confluence of the latter and the Kechee-aque-hono or Prairie-dog-town 
river. The bed of Red river at this point is about 500, that of the otlier about 
500 yards wide ; but Red river furnishes the most water, and is always run- 
ning, when Prairie-dog river is frequently dry during the summer. The bed 
of Red river at the mouth of Pease river is a mile wide, and with the clouds 
of dust and quicksand, stirred up by every breeze, resembles a Sahara 
en miniature. 

Wilbarger and Wichita counties are well watered by bold running streams 
and innumerable limpid and pure springs. Pease river enters Wilbarger 
county from the west and runs in a nearly direct course to its junction with 
Red river. Wanderer's creek is a tributary of Prairie-dog-town river, and 
a very crooked stream, winding its way through a beautiful valley of rich 
lands. The Big Wichita river crosses the south line of Wilbarger county, 
and flows in a northeast course through this and the center of Wichita 
county ; it is a bold running stream, but very crooked ; the water has a 
yellowish color, and of a strong brackish taste. I have obtained tolerable 
good water by digging holes in the quicksand of the river bed ; the Indians 
sometimes follow the same process. Beaver creek is a large tributary of the 
Big Wichita, and a magnificent stream. From its sources in Hardeman 
county to its junction Avith that river, it waters one of tlie richest and most 
fertile valleys in the State. The main creek and its numerous branches and 
tributaries are skirted with a fine growth of timber; other water courses in 
Wilbarger county are Jenny's, Minna's, Lilly's, Burke's, McGee's, and 
numerous others, branches of Beaver creek; Reed's and other smaller 
creeks, tributaries of Big AYichita, and a number of creeks flowing into Red 
river. In Wichita county are Gilbert's creek, a tributary of Red river> 
Plum, Baxter's, Buffalo or Tanahah, Holliday and otiier creeks, branches of 
Big Wichita and Beaver creek. The Little Wichita flows through the south- 
east corner of the county. 

Some of the finest springs of pure water may be found along the banks 
of Red river. Pease and Prairie-dog river. The St. Andrew Springs, near 
tlie mouth of Pease river, have gained a reputation and have become a 
camping place of military and sinweying expeditions. 

The soil of both counties is a rich red loam, in the elevated portions rocky 
and gravelly. The country in the forks of Pease and Red river is elevated, 
and hilly at the mouth of Prairie-dog-town river. In these hills there are 
many brooks of pure water and cool and limpid springs ; one of the finest 
is Pearl Spring. To the admirer of the sublime and beautilnl, I can 
i-ecommend a visit to this region of country; a most magnificent view pre- 
sents itself at sunrise to a person standing on the precipitous hills west of 
the moutii of tiie Kechee-aque-hono. The Wichita mountains rise in large 
dark-blue masses from the apparently unlimited carpet of bright buffalo and 
mesquite grasses. By the dark foliage of tiie timber, you can follow the 
course of tortuous streams and copy a map of the country from the original 
plot. The mountains appear not very distant, and you propose a short ride 



718 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

— still, from your high stand, at the mouth of the Kechee-aque-hono, you 
will find it fully twenty miles to the nearest mountains. But do not imag- 
ine this extensive prairie a region of dull monotony! — the picture is 
animated by droves of mustangs and herds of buffaloes, deer, and antelopes 
and occasionally chasing Indians will set the whole in motion with the 
sound of distant thunder. 

The timber iu "Wichita and "Wilbarger counties consists chiefly of mesquite, 
of which there are extensive forests — it covers half of "Wichita county. 
Along the water courses, especially along Beaver creek and the Little 
"Wichita, walnut, pecan, post-oak, chittam, wild China, hackberry, cotton- 
wood, etc., are found. There is also good building rock in different parts 
of the county; in Wichita county copper ore of a rich quality was found. 
In 1852, Dr. Shumard. one of the State Geologists, found specimens of the 
same ore on the opposite bank of Red river. There can be no doubt but 
that this county Avill equal any i^ortion of Texas or the United States as a 
grain country, and for stock-raising it will equal the range upon the Clear 
Fork of Brazos 

In conclusion we will remark, that the eastern border of the red lands of 
Western Texas {Bed Loam) is on a nearly dii-ect line drawn from, the 
mouth of the Little Wichita to the junction of the Concho and Colorado, 
and thence in the same course to the Rio Grande. The rich red land bottoms 
of the lower Red river were carried away in small particles from the High- 
lands of the West. 

Rain is sometimes scarce in the new counties of the northwest when the 
lower country has plenty of it ; at other seasons, the northwestern country is 
flooded when other portions of the State suffer from the drought. For 
instance, in the summer of 1857, when the whole country suffered from the 
extreme drought, the rains were excessive during the months of July and 
August in the country between the Upper Red river and the Brazos ; these 
streams were level with the banks, and sometimes impassable. It is thought 
that such rains are pretty regular and account for the " June rises " in Red 
river and Brazos ; these are certainly not caused by " the melting of snow 
in the mountains," as was formerly supposed. 

Greer.* — Named for John A. Greer ; created in 1860 ; lies north of 

* Greer county, containing? 3.4S0 square miles, or 2,227,200 acres, is claimed by the 
United States as having been ceded to the Government by the Choctaws and Chicka- 
saws, by a treaty, April 28th, ISGG. (See report of the Secretary of the Interior, for 
1877, page 76.) This might be a valid title, provided tlie land belonged to the Indians. 
lUit in ISGO, when the Commissioners on the part of Texas, were engaged iu marking 
Unit line, AV^illiam II. Russell, the Texas Commissioner, absolutely refused to admit the 
boundaries claimed by the Indians ; and at first the United States Commissioner agreed 
that the north fork should be regarded as the main fork of Red river. This gave Greer 
county to Texas. In the old maps, Upt)er Red river is laid down as the Keche-ah-que. 
bono; and is designated by a crooked line, with no tributaries laid down. This is the 
case in Nohsh's map, used by John Quuicy Adams, in 1810; and Disturnell's map, used 
at Guadalupe Hidalgo, in 1848. Texas churns the north fork because that stream cor- 
responds more nearly with the general course of Red river, th:ui the middle or south 
forks; and the course of the north fork was more directly in the direction of the desig- 
nated initial corner, at the point where the lOOtli meridian of longitude crossed tiie 
thu'ty-six-thirty parallel of latitude. 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 719 

Hardeman and Wilbarger counties. This county is still in dispute ; being 
claimed both by the United States and Texas. 

The Pan-Handle, or Llano Estacado. — The Legislature, in 1876, laid 
off fifty-four counties in this immense region of the State. Some of these 
counties are already filling up with settlements. The town of Clarendon 
has been laid off in Donley county, of which a newspaper account says: 
Fine fields of wild grass abound along the streams and on the uplands of 
Donley county. These fields will for the first time this year be harvested by 
a mowing machine. The present field crops now growing in Donley 
county are corn, oats, millet and beans. These are growing finely in 
the freshly-broken sod ground They have a growth at present equal 
to that of equal age in the older States. Water can be reached in Don- 
ley county at a depth varying from ten to forty feet on the valleys and 
lower uplands, and about fifty to seventy-five feet on the highest lands. On 
the farming lands generally a well need not be deeper than forty feet. 
Clarendon has a splendid mill site in the limits of the town. 

The following are the names given to these counties: Andrews, for 
Richard Andrews, killed at the battle of Concepcion; Armstrong, for a 
pioneer family ; Bailey, for an Alamo victim ; Borden, for Gail Borden, Jr. ; 
Briscoe, for Andrew Briscoe ; Castro, for Henry Castro, Empresario ; Car- 
son, for P. Carson, of Burnet's Cabinet ; Childress, for George C. Childress, 
who wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1836 ; Cockran, for a victim 
of the Alamo; CoUinsworth, for James Collinsworth ; Cottle, for C. W. 
Cottle, of the Alamo; Crosby, for Stephen Crosby; Dawson, for Nicholas 
Dawson (Deaf Smith) ; Donley, for Stockton P. Donley ; Fisher, for S. Rhoads 
Fisher; Floyd, for a victim of the Alamo ; Gains, for James Gains, of Gains 
Ferry; Garza, for an old Spanish family; Gray, for Peter W. Gray; Hale, 
for J. C. Hale, of San Jacinto; Hall, for Warren D. C.Hall; Hansford, 
for James M. Hansford, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Hartley, 
for O. C. and R. K. Hartley; Hemphill, for John Hemphill; Howard, for 
v. E. Howard; Hutchinson, for Andrew Hutchinson ; Kent, for an Alamo 
victim; King, for a victim of the Alamo; Lamb, for Lieutenant Lamb, 
killed at Sun Jacinto ; Lynn, for a victim of the Alamo ; Lubbock, for T. S. 
Lubbock ; Martin, for Wiley Martin ; IMitchell, for Asa and Eli Mitchell ; 
Moore, for Commodore E. W. Moore ; Motley, for Dr. Wm. Motley ; Nolan, 
for Philip Nolan ; Ochiltree, for W. B. Ochiltree ; Oldham, for W. S. Old- 
ham ; Parmer, for Martin Parmer ; Potter, for Robert Potter, of the navy ; 
Randall, fur a soldier; Roberts, for John S. Roberts; Scurry, for W. R. 
Scurry; Sherman, for Sidney Sherman; Stonewall, for T. J. Jackson: 
Swisher, for James G. Swisher; Terry, for Frank Terry; Wheeler, for 
Royal T. Wheeler; and Yoakum, for Henderson Yoakum, historian. 

In the general divisions of Texas, in Part 1, we gave a description of this 
most interesting, though little known, part of our State, by Colonel Shatter, 
who entered it from Fort Concho, on the south. We add some further 
notices of the country by persons who entered x'ia Red river, on the north. 
Mr. Wickeland and Colonel Emory were connected with the boundary survey 
in 1859-60 : 



720 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Mr. Wickeland estimates the area as 27,250 square miles. He divides the 
Panhandle as follows: 1st, the southeast part, embracing the upper basin, 
or valley of Red river ; 2d, the southwest part, including a portion of "Llano 
Estacado," and 3d, the northern part, watered by the Canadian and its trib- 
utaries. The first part is mostly fertile, embracing the rich alluvial valley 
of Red river, making an area of about six thousand square mileSj or near 
four millions of acres, from eight hundred to one thousand feet lower than 
the plain on the west. 

' The great width of the plain of the "Estacado," west of the sources of 
Red river, is one hundred and twenty-five miles. It is more or less a roll- 
ing prairie, with an elevation of 4,000 to 4,500 feet above the ocean, 
and is highest near New Mexico on the west. Want of rains greatly impair 
its value for agriculture, but, with the exception of some sandy and gravelly 
belts, it is covered with a thick growth of gamma and other grasses, afford- 
ing fine pasturage to almost unlimited herds throughout the year. Mr. 
Wickeland says a great portion of this region may be profitably cultivated 
by using the water that forms into ponds in the depressions after the rains. 
The soil is a red loam or clay, more or less sandy. But little is known of 
that part of the Panhandle north of the South Fork of Red river. Mr. 
Wickeland explored the country along the boundary line between the Indian 
Tei'ritory and the Panhandle, but thinks, as near as he could judge, that the 
true boundary, or the 100th meridian of longitude, is about one degree west 
of where it was located by Captain Marcy, of the United States Engineers. 
Following Marcy's line, the Canadian is one hundred and five miles north 
from Red river. 

The northern portion of the Panhandle is a succession of high rolling 
prairies, intersected by the numerous narrow valleys of small streams. Tlie 
principal streams are the South and North Forks of the Canadian, Dry 
river, the Mesquit creek, and other tributaries of the South Canadian. The 
North Fork has its source in Texas, near the northern boundary, and runs 
nearly due east. The South Fork comes from the canons of the Rocky 
Mountains, in New Mexico, enters Texas from the west, and also proceeds 
nearly east. 

The Panhandle is only moderately supplied with timber. The wide prai- 
ries are relieved of their monotony by an occasional view of timber growing 
on the banks of the streams and marking their course. Sometimes, also, fine 
groves of trees are found on the elevated lands and in ravines, and on the 
banks of the Canadian, and here are found excellent cedar, post and bur- 
oak. A few miles north of " Marcy's boundary line," on the north bank of 
the Soutn Canadian, Mr. Wickeland saw a large forest of oak timber, speak- 
ing of which Lieutenant Abert says: "On the 27th of September, in Long. 
99° ir, on the north side of the Canadian, I passed through a country 
completely covered with a dense growth of oak, commonly called black- 
jack. This forest stretches back from the river as far as the eye can reach." 

Mr. AV. says that the Antelope Hills lie on the south bank of the Cana- 
dian, near marking the lOOth meridian, and are sometinies called the 
"boundary hills." Tlie hills are about 100 to 130 feet higli, with a table of 
sand-stone about fifteen feet thick. They are not situated on the same me- 



COUNTY SKETCHES. 721 

ridian with the "Wichita Mountains, as represented on the maps, and persons 
looking for them will be disappointed. 

A considerable portion of the Panhandle is included in what is called the 
Gypsum Formation. The eastern limits of the Gypsum Formation extend 
fi-om the sources of the Colorado, in a northeast direction, over the heads of 
Eed river, and crossing the Canadian about two hundred miles west of Fort 
Smith. This formation is seen in every river bed and caiion as far west as 
Colorado Chiquite, in New Mexico. Wheat and other small grain may be 
successfully cultivated along the waters of Eed river and the Canadian. 
This whole country is admirably adapted to fruits and the grape, and to 
stock-raising. Mr. Wickeland says he found wild grapes, plums, currants, 
etc., in abundance in all parts of the Panhandle. 

Major Emory says: " In no part of the world does this luscious fruit (the 
grape) flourish with greater luxuriance than in the upper valley of the Rio 
Grande as far down as the Presidio del Norte," and the same general char- 
acter of the soil and climate extends to the Panhandle. Mr. Wickeland 
visited the Canadian in June and July, 1856, when the whole country west 
of the Mississippi was suffering from a severe drouth, and he says; "Not- 
withstanding this drouth, portions of the country were literally covered 
with plums and grape-vines loaded with most delicious fruit. Of grapes, I 
found two different kinds, both small and sweet, and of a dark blue color. 
The plums were frequently an inch in diameter, sweet and of a light yellow 
and red color, shghtly diflTei'ing from the Chickasaw plum. In fact, I went 
on this tour with nine whites and six Indians, without any provisions, and 
short of ammunition, and we lived for four weeks entirely on buffalo and 
fruits. Persons visiting the Panhandle country — in fact, the whole of 
Northwestern Texas— will be delighted with the balmy and salubrious air. 
The mean temperature in summer I found to be 80'' to 82". In the warmest 
seasons the thermometer hardly ever rises to 95°, and even then the heat is 
mitigated by the refreshing southern breezes, making the nights cool and 
delightful." 




COURT HOUSE. FORT WORTH. 



Part X. 



T^l\e S^ridulttLfe, jViki^ufkdtui'e^, doir\ir\efde 



AKD 



f^ublid Ii\^titutioi\^ of ¥exk^. 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 



Cotton. — As cotton furnishes our leading article of export, we place it 
first among our agricultural products. Colonel Jared E. Groce, one of the 
earliest of Austins colonists, brought cotton seed with him to the Brazos 
river in 1821. In 1825 Colonel Groce erected a cotton gin, the first in 
Texas. The next year the Austins built one on the west side of the 
Brazos river, about ten miles above Columbia. This was subsequently 
burned, and the place has been known as the Burnt Gin Place. About the 
same time, Robert H. Williams built one on Old Caney, in Matagorda 
county. The staple was then packed in bales ot fifty and one hun- 
dred pounds, and transported to the Rio Grande on mules; 250 pounds 
constituting a mule load. In 1831 Edwin Waller sent a schooner load of 
cotton from the mouth of the Brazos to Matamoras. The cotton sold for 
sixty-two and a half cents per pound. Such was the rapid increase in the 
production of this crop that in 1834 it was estimated that the cotton for 
that year sold for $600,000. Cotton then brought an exorbitant price. 

We have no statistics showing the number of bales annually produced 
during the Republic, from 1836 to 1847. In 1848 the cotton crop amounted 
to 39,774 500 pound bales; in 1819, 38,824 bales; 1850, commercial esti- 
mate 31,405 bales — reported in the U. S. census tables, 58,072. la 1851, 
45,900 bales; 1852, 62,433 bales; 1853, 85,790 bales; 1854, 110,325; 1855,. 
80,739; 1856, 116,078; 1857, estimated, 200,000; 1859, 400,000 bales. In i860 
the census tables place the crop at 421,463 bales — a large estimate. We 
have no reliable statistics of the crop during the war. The commercial esti- 
mate for 1865 was 188,810 bales; 1866, 191,720; 1867, 117,810; 1868, 148,083; 
1869,246,846; 1870, commercial estimate, 319,274 — census report, 350,628 
bales; 1871,293,450; 1872, 343,450; 1873, 487,771. We have no statistics 
of the crop of the State of a later date than 1873. It is generally conceded 
that two-thirds of the cotton crop passes through Galveston. The amount 
of cotton received at that point since 1873 is as follows: 1874, 354,927 
bales; 1875, 465,529; 1876, 491,981. In 1877 the crop Avas cut short by the 
worms, and the receipts at Galveston were only 451,137 bales. The crop 
for 1878 is unusually promising, and it is likely that Galveston will receive 
fully 600,000 bales. If this is but two-thirds of the crop we may count 
upon producing this year 800,000 bales, constituting Texas the first cotton 
producing State on the continent. 



728 AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. 

Corn. — As corn, all things considered, is the most valuable and indis- 
pensable crop, we give the report of our corn crop for different decades, 
as found in the U. S. census reports. In 1850 the crop amounted to 
6,828,826 bushels; in 1860 to 16,600,702 bushels; and in 1870 to 20,554,538 
bushels. 

Oats. — The census reports give our crop of oats in 1850 at 199,017 
bushels; in 1860 at 955,865; and in 1870 at 762,693 bushels. Since that 
period there has been a rapid increase in the Texas oat crop. In 1876 large 
shipments were made from Galveston to New Orleans. 

Potatoes. — The reports of the potato crop, both Irish and sweet, are so 
meager that we hardly deem it necessary to reproduce the figures. But 
the average production of over 100 bushels to the acre, shows that this is 
both a reliable and profitable crop. As increased attention is paid to gar- 
dening, and our crops become more diversified, potatoes, both Irish aud 
sweet, will form no inconsiderable item in our agricultural j)roducts. 

Sugar and Molasses. — Immense tracts of our alluvial bottom lands, near 
the coast, are admirably adapted to the px'oduction of the ribbon cane ; but 
a variety of influences have prevented our farmers from going extensively 
into its culture. It has, however, been tried sufiiciently to demonstrate the 
reliability of this crop, and its adaptation to our soil and climate. Its cul- 
ture was introduced almost simultaneously with the Anglo-American 
colonists. In 1830, Mr. Williams, of Liberty, manufactured forty hogsheads 
of sugai'. Soon after this, cane was planted on the Brazos river in Brazo- 
ria county, and in Matagoi'da county on the Colorado. In 1850 the sugar 
crop amounted to 2,782 hhds. and 2,427 barrels molasses. In 1855 the 
crop had increased to 4,721 hhds, sugar, and 4,728 barrels molasses. In 
1856 an early frost killed the cane, and the next year the sugar crop fell off 
to 124 hogsheads, with a corresponding falling off in the production of 
molasses. Since that period the production has been somewhat variable. 
In 1868, 1,800 hogsheads were produced; in 1870, 2,200; in 1871, 1,000; in 
1872, 700 ; in 1873, 800 ; in 1874, 1,144 ; and there has been a steady increase 
since that period. The introduction of evaporators and cheaper machinery 
for handling and grinding the cane, is stimulating the production, and 
large numbers of small farmers are beginning to plant cane. 

Tobacco. — This has been raised in all parts of the State, from the earliest 
settlement of the country. During the colonial period, a bill was introduced 
in the Legislature of the State atSaltillo, prohibiting the raising of tobacco, 
as the govei'nment derived a considerable revenue from the monopoly of 
trade in the article. In this bill, an exception was made in favor of Aus- 
tin's colonists, who, at the request of the Texas delegate, were each permit- 
ted to plant one peck of seed to raise tobacco for his own use. The 
agricultural report estimates that Texas produces an aggregate of 500 
pounds of tobacco to the acre. Experiments have demonstrated that the 



AGRICULTURAL EEPOETS. 



729 



finest quality of tobacco used in the manufacture of Havana cigars can be 
produced here. The State may, and probably in time will, produce mil- 
lions of pounds of tobacco per annum. 

"Wheat.— This great cereal grows luxuriantly over more than one-half of 
the State. The census report places the wheat crop of 1850 at 41,720 bush- 
els: 1860 at 1,478,345: and in 1870 at 1,414,103 bushels. The report from 
the Agricultural Bureau estimates tlie crop of 1870 at 1,225,600 bushels; 
1872 at 1,377,000 bushels. A carefully prepared estimate of the crop in 
1877 announces that in eighteen grain-producing counties of Northern Texas 
the yield was of wheat 3,277,600 bushels; of oats 6,757,500 bushels; and 
of barley 1,125,000 bushels; and this is but little over half the amount of 
these crops in the State. The common wheat is subject to rust, in wet sea- 
sons ; hence, some years the yield is very light. The Agricultural Depart- 
ment estimates the average yield per aci-e in 1868 at only eight bushels : in 
1872 eighteen and a half bushels : and in 1875 at twenty-five bushels per 

acre. 
"We copy the following estimate of the Texas wheat crop from the annual 

review of the market, in the Galveston Neivs of September 15, 1878: 

"As a wheat-growing State,^Texas is destined, at no very distant day, to 
become one of the foremost, if not the foremost in the Union. Yet 
while we may appropriately speculate upon her vast capabilities, it will 
perhaps subserve no good end to exaggerate.what she has done and is doing 
in this respect. 

"The wheat crops of our State since 1875, inclusive— and previously to 
that year it is hardly worth while to take note for our present purpose- 
has been greatly over-estimated. The crop of 1875 was a good one as to yield 
and excellent as to quality, and that year may be regarded as the initial 
period of Texas's successful wheat-growing and milling; for the reputation 
made by her that year was so encouraging as to stimulate and cause a rapid 
increase of the acreage of wheat and her milling capacity. 

"The crop, however, in the following year, 1876, notwithstanding an in- 
creased acreage — though less than promised, on account of the threatening 
attitude of the grasshoppers about sowing time— yielded a considerably 
smaller return than that of 1875, the season being less favorable, nor was 
the grain so good. 

"The crop of 1877 was still smaller than that of 1876, the rust having cut 
it short by almost totally destroying the late wheat. Nor was the grain 
any better than that of 1876. 

"The crop of the present year, 1878, is perhaps larger than that of 1875, 
and therefore the largest ever raised in Texas. The grain is also, so far as 
natural development is concerned, of excellent quality ; but, much to be 
regretted, suffered very great damage by protracted wet weather following 
closely after the harvest. Very much of this damage is due to the slothful- 
ness and trust-to luck policy of many farmers. Instead of removing the 
wheat from the shock and housing or stacking as quickly as possible, many, 
to save a very trifling amr.unt of labor, left it in the shock awaiting the 
thresher— thus laying it liable to be caught, as was the case this year, in a 



730 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



protracted wet spell, when it becomes impossible to rescue it from damage 
or destruction. Much good wheat remains, however, and it is hoped 
enough to keep our mills running the better part or all of the season. 

''After considerable investigation, we feel warranted in estimating the 
crops of the State as follows: 1875, 3,000,000 bushels; 1876, 2,000,000; 1877, 
1,500,000; and that of 1878, say 3,500,000 at the outside. 

"The quality of Texas wheat is probably unsurpassed ; it weighs heavily, 
it being a common thing to weigh 63 pounds to the bushel, and millers say 
that for its looks, its turns out better, stronger flour than any other. It is 
susceptible of great improvement by careful selection of seed and more 
careful cleaning and grading for market. Thus treated, much of it would 
grade No. 1 in St Louis." 

The Agricultural Department at Washington publishes annually a report of 
the most important crops. These I'qports are rather meagre and imper- 
fect; but we copy a table showing the estimated production of the follow- 
ing articles for a number of years: 



Products. 
1867. 



Corn 

Wheat . . 
Rve .... 
Oats .... 
Barley .. 
Potatoes. 
Tobacco . 
Hay 



.bushels 
....do.... 
....do.... 
....do.... 
....do.... 
...do... 
.pounds. . 
tons 



Total 






<y 



20,716.000 
794,000 
100.000 
813,000 

41,000 
303,000 
110.000 

17,000 



28.2 

9,5 

16.3 

23.5 

24.8 

130.3 

500 

1.7 



634.604 

88.07.S 

6,134 

34.595 

1.653 

2,325 

220.000 

10,000 



873,141 



So 



3. 2 



1 80 

1 28 

79 

1 10 

69 

25 

16 00 



15.537,000 

1,500,660 

128,000 

642.670 

45,100 

209.007 

27.500 

282,200 



818.371800 



1868. 



Indian corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Bailey 

Potatoes . . . 

Tobacco 

Hav 



.bushels 
....do... 
....do... 
....do... 
... do... 
....do... 
.pounds. 
tons 



Total 



21,337,000 
389,000 

93,000 
861.000 

33,000 
340,000 
111.000 

17.300 



25 

6 
11.8 
26.6 
11 
61 
460 

1.25 



853.480 


$0 62 


64,833 


2 25 


7,881 


1 59 


32.368 


90 


3.000 


2 16 


5.573 


1 50 


238 


32 


13.840 


10 00 


981,213 





13.228,940 
875,250 
147.870 
774.900 

510,000 

35.520 

173.000 

15,816,760 



AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. 



731 



Products. 
1869. 


Qi 
O 
3 

O 
t-i 

a 

a 


> 


a 


fl o 
u ® 

> 


a 
.2 

3 

> 

o 

H 


Indian Com 


. .bushels 


23,000,000 

1,250,000 

103.000 

1,250,000 

(30,000 

400,000 


29 
11.1 

17.3 

28.4 
26.6 
112 


793,103 

112,012 

5,953 

44,014 

2.255 

3,571 


f 73 
1 70 
1 10 
70 
1 04 
1 60 


16,790,000 

2,125.000 

113,300 

875.O00 

62,400 

640,000 


Wheat ,... 

Rve 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 


do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do... 

...pounds. . 


Hay 


. . . .tons 


28,000 


1.69 


16,568 


14 18 


397,040 


Total 






978,076 




21.002.740 


1870. 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats .... 


..bushels. . 

do.... 

do.... 

... do 


23,690,000 

1,225.000 

95.000 

1,500,000 

54,000 

400,000 


26.5 
11.7 
19.1 
21.6 
30 
128 


893,962 

104,700 

4,973 

69.444 

1,800 

3,125 


1 06 
1 73 
1 11 
1 00 
1 33 
1 33 


25,111,400 

2,119 250 

105.450 

1,500.000 

•71,820 

532,000 


Barley 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 


do.... 

do.... 

..pounds. . 


Hay 


. . . .tons 


25,000 


1.60 


15,625 


15 36 


384,000 








1,093,629 




29 S'^o 9-^0 










1871 

Wheat 

Oats 

Potatoes 


..bushels.. 

do.... 

do.... 

.....do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

...pounds.. 


20,847,000 

551,000 

42,000 

675,000 

42,000 

220,000 


19 
11.5 
12.1 
25.1 
20 
105 


1,097,210 

47,913 

3,471 

26,892 
2,100 
2,095 


1 11 

1 97 
1 65 
1 04 
1 35 
1 85 


23,140,170 

1,085,470 

69.300 

702. OUO 

56,700 

407,000 


Hay 


tons 


22,500 


1.07 


21,0l'8 


24 33 


547,425 


Total 






1,200,709 




90 008 065 










1872. 

Indian Corn 

Wheat 

Rye 

Oats 

Barley 

Potatoes 

Tobacco 


. .bushels.. 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

. . .pounds. 


1 

27,934,000 

1,377,000 

54,000 

783.000 

51,000 

270,000 


25.3 
18.5 
17.2 
25.4 
26 
110 


1,104,110 

74,432 

3,139 

30,826 

2,040 

2,454 


43 

1 65 
1 38 
81 
1 00 
1 89 


12.011.620 

2,272,050 

74.520 

034.230 

61 000 

510,300 


Hay 


tons 


34,400 


1.13 


30,442 


13.52 


465.088 








1,247,443 




10,018.808 








Wheat 

Oats 

Potatoes 


..bushels. . 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do.... 

do 


28.016,000 

1,474,000 

40.000 

1,118.000 

63,000 

233.000 

141.000 

62,000 


19 

12.5 

13 

27.2 

70 
750 
1.40 


1,474,526 

117,920 

3,077 

41,103 

2,005 
3.32S 

l,s8 
44,286 


75 
1 35 
1 11 

84 

86 
1 49 

22.5 
10 92 


21,012.000 

1,989,!)00 

44.400 

939.120 

54,180 

347 170 


Hay 


...pounds.. 
. . . .tons 


31,725 
677,040 


Total 






1,686,493 




25,095,535 









ASYLUMS. 



In August, 1856, the Legislature set apart one hundred thousand acres of 
land each, for asylums for lunatics, for the blind, the deaf and dumb, and for 
orphans. The same Act appropriated $50,000 for the lunatic asylum, and 
$10,000 each, for the blind, and the deaf and dumb. 

Asylum, Blind.— In 1857, a site for this institution was selected in the 
north-western suburbs of Austin City ; Dr. S. W. Baker appointed Superin- 
tendent, and five pupils received. In 1858, $12,500 Were appropriated by 
the Legislature for the erection of buildings— Dr. J. H. Lightfoot, Superin- 
tendent; ten pupils in attendance. 1861, S. G. Haynie, Superintendent. 
1862, Rev. Wm. A. Smith, Superintendent. During the war, the institu- 
tion was without the means of successful operation. 1866, Henry Thomas, 
Superintendent. 1867, Dr. S. W. Baker, Superintendent ; $9,600 expended 
for repairs on buildings. 1871, Dr. Alexander, Superintendent ; buildings 
enlarged. 1872, E. M. Wheelock and R. M. Mills, Superintendents. 1874, 
Dr. Fi-ank Rainey, Superintendent ; forty-two pupils in the institution. 

The objects of this institution are thus set forth in the report of Superin- 
tendent AYheelock, in 1872 : 

" The Institution for the Blind is not an asylum proper, nor an infirmary 
for the restoration of vision, still less a hospital or almshouse, but an educa- 
tional and industrial home, whose central principle is to render the blind 
self-dependent and self-supporting. It claims to be a school, like other 
schools, having its course of study and its system of discipline, but unlike 
other schools in general, it embraces a mechanical department for the 
training of its pupils in industrial work. Experience has decisively shown 
that, under proper training, the education of the blind has borne good 
fruit in the formation of teachers, mechanics, manufacturers, music teach- 
ers, choristers, organists, piano-tuners, etc. No individuals have turned 
their early advantages to better account, and in all parts of our State can be 
found those who once were received as helpless, visionless and friendless 
children into this institution, and are at this moment well-trained in their 
respective trades, with minds enlarged and manners softened by scholastic 
discipline, receiving constant employment, and supporting themselves in 
comfort from the proceeds of their labor. The age of twenty-four is fixed 
as the limit for admission, for the reason tliat the training of the blind 
requires much time and the docile impressibility of youth, in order to lay 
the solid foundation of an industrial and intellectual education. No charge 
is made for instruction, board or medical services, and the parents and 
friends of the pupils are called upon for no outlay beyond their traveling 
expenses and the providing of a suitable amount of good and comfortable 
clothino-. Every indulffonce is allowed consistent with habits of order; 
kindness is made the rule of government, and so seldom are punishments 




MASONIC TKMPLE AT PALESTINE. I. * G. X. R. R. 



DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. 735 

invoked, that it may be said that they do not exist. More than any other 
afflicted class, the blind need the stimulus of fitting occupation, whether 
amusement, study or work; those are happiest who, with companions of 
their own class, and with constant occupation, tind at every step assist- 
ance, friendly hands and sympathy. Their true happiness is best consulted 
and best witnessed within the walls of an establishment, where they forget 
to be gloomy and morose, and where the social atmosphere proves tha 
blindness is not always melancholy." 

Asylum, Deaf and Dumb.— This Institution is beautifully located on the 
west side of the Colorado river, in full view of the city of Austin; went 
into operation in 1857, under the superintendence of Dr. J. W. Nostrand, 
who continued in the Supex-intendency until 1876. It was opened for the 
reception of pupils on the first of January, 1857, the trustees having rented 
the premises which are still occupied for one year. In 1858, these premises, 
consisting of fifty-seven and a half acres of land and several small wooden 
buildings thereon, were purchased as the permanent site of the institution, 
the Legislature having made an appropriation of $7,500 for that purpose. 
The price paid for the land and improvements was $5,500, and the remaining 
$2,000 were expended in making the necessary alterations and additions for 
the accommodation of a larger number of pupils. The institution contin- 
ued to prosper and inci-ease until the breaking out of the war, when it 
suffered a temporary check, but at no time have the pupils been dispersed 
or the regular sessions interrupted. In 1858 there were eighteen pupils. 
The report for 1862, shows the total number received to that "date, thirty- 
eight; of whom twenty-two were still in the institution. In 1867, $7,500 
were expended in repairs. In 1874, there were forty-two inmates of the 
institution. In Governor Coke's message to the Fourteenth Legislature, in 
January, 1875, he says of this State Institution : 

*' Under the excellent management of Superintendent Van Nostrand, 
whose qualifications and fitness for the place are very superior, the unfort- 
unates, who in this institution are receiving the care and aid of the State, 
are pleasantly situated, and present in their smiling and cheerful faces, 
abundant evidence of the parental kindness with which they are treated and 
controlled, and of their grateful appreciation of their surroundings. Their 
ready intelligence and the proficiency they exhibit in the various branches 
of study, indicates capacity and industry in their teachers, as well as a 
thorough knowledge of the peculiar and difficult system through which 
they are taught. It is suggested, for the consideration of your honorable 
bodies, that while as a school for the education of these afiiicted children, 
this institution, thongli limited in its capacity, so far as numbers are con- 
cerned, is an admirable one, that by extending the education of the pupils 
to some useful or mechanical trade, by which they would be enabled after 
leaving school to earn a livelihood, the practical utility of an education 
there, would bo very much enhanced, and the benefit conferred would be 
more real and substantial. The pupils in this school, with the usual train- 
ing, would make good mechanics or artizans, and good printers. They are 
quick, intelligent and apt ; their physical development is generally good, 

40 



736 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

and iivhen their understanding is reached, their action is as prompt and 
intelligent as that of those not atilicted as they are. It is recommended 
that an appropriation be made for the purchase of a printing jn-ess, and so 
much material as may be necessary to be used. in teaching the printer's art, 
as one of the branches of instruction of this institution. The benefits con- 
ferred will, to them, be great, while the cost to the State will be insignifi- 
cant." 

In March, 1876, General Henry E. M'Culloch was appointed Superin- 
tendent. There were then forty-seven inmates — thirty boys and seventeen 
girls. 

Asylum, Orphan. — No State Orphan Asylum has ever been opened. In 
1867-68, an orphan asylum — primarily for the children of deceased Confed- 
erate soldiers — was opened at Bayland, in Harris county, by Rev. Mr. 
Preston. He was succeeded in the SuiDcrintendency by Major H. F. Gil- 
lette. It is under the management of a board of trustees, who perform all 
their duties gratuitously. In 1873, the Legislature gave to this institution 
a portion of the land set apart in 1856, for an orphan asylum. "We have no 
statistical report. 

Asylum, Lunatic. — In 1857, a site was selected three miles north of Aus- 
tin, and Dr. Perry appointed Superintendent. 1858, Dr. C. G. Keenan, 
Superintendent. 1862, Dr. J. M. Steiner, Superintendent. Dr. Steiner 
reports that since the institution was opened, sixty-seven patients had 
been received: 49 males and 18 females; and of this number 21 had been 
restored to their proper mind and returned to their friends. In 1865, Dr. 
B. Graham was Superintendent. 1866, Dr. Beall, Superintendent; 54 
patients. 1867, the admission of freedmen necessitated an enlargement of 
the premises, and $35,000 was expended in the purchase and impi'ovements 
of the Cross propei'ty. 1870, $20,000 appropriated for new buildings; 
James A. Corley, Superintendent; 83 inmates. 1871, 95 inmates; 48 males 
and 47 females (12 colored). 1872, J. F. Weisselberg, Superintendent; 
average number of inmates, of whom 20 per cent, were restored. 1874, 
Dr. B. R. Wallace, Superintendent; 127 inmates. 1876, September 1st, 201 
patients — 119 male and 82 female. 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 



State House.— The most conspicuous public building in Austin is the State 
House, beautifully situated on a commanding eminence at the head of the ave- 
nue, in the northeastern portion of the city. The foundation-stone was laid 
with appropriate ceremonies, July 4th, 1852. It is three stories, 140x90 feet ; 
floor of the lower story oolile marble, inlaid in cement. Two passages, 20 feet 
wide, cutting each other at right-angles, run through the length and breadth 
of this story. There are twelve rooms, occupied by the Executive Depart- 
ment for ofEces, etc. A broad stairway ascends from the front to the second 
story, and another from the Inside reaches this story in the rear of the build- 
ing. The second story contains the Senate Chamber and the Hall of the 
House of Representatives, with some committee rooms, etc. The third story 
has the geological cabinet. State library, and other rooms used by commit- 
tees, etc. It is built of the limestone of the neighborhood; foundation ten 
feet in tlic ground. From the bottom of the wall to the top of the dome it 
is 101 feet. The original cost was estimated at $150,000, and $25,000 for 
furniture. 

Rooms of the Supreme Court. — This building is in the inclosed area of 
the Capitol grounds, a little )iorthwest of the main building. It was built 
originally for a land office ; then fitted up for the State Department, and, 
in 1870, refitted and appropriated to the uses of the Supreme Court. 

The General Land Office. — This building stands outside of the Cap- 
itol inclosure upon an eminence on the east side of Congress avenue, and 
nearly fronting the Governor's House. It is built of stone, of a harder 
kind than the Capitol. It is two full stoi'ies in lieight, with semi-circular 
windows and high commanding roof. It contains fifteen rooms, connected 
with each other by corridors and spiral stairways. On account of its loca- 
tion and construction, it is much the most pleasing of the public buildings 
in appearance. Cost, $39,000. Built, 1851-2. 

The Treasury Department. — This edifice is situated within the Capitol 
ground, to the rear of the Capitol, on the east. It is of the same material 
as the Capitol, being two stories in height, and entered by a flight of wind- 
ing, stairs through a portico into the secontl story. The basement is 
strongly vaulted. The Comptroller and Auditor have their oflices in this 
building, which contains some twelve rooms. It is square-roofed, well 
supplied, as are all the public buildings, with ample cisterns. Cost, $35,000. 

The Governor's House. — This is a brick edifice located upon an eminence 
on the west side of Congress avenue, near the Capitol. It is two stories, 
having a portico extending along its whole front, with six Ionic columns 
and square roof. It is enclosed by a neat paling, with graded grounds, and 
is a neat structure. Whole cost, $17,000. Built in 1855. 



CHURCHES. 



During the eighteenth and. earlier years of the nineteenth century the 
Eomau Catholic religion was established by law, and uo other form of 
Christianity existed, as will be seen in the history of the '' Old Missions.' 
Those established for the conversion of the Indians were under the jurisdic- 
tion of Fathers of the Order of St. Francis. In 1790, Texas belonged 
to the bishopric of Guadelaxara, and in 1793 to that of Monterey. The 
Missions were secularized. In 1805, Bishop Primus Feliciana Maria visited 
Texas to regulate the affairs of the Church. There were priests at various 
points: at Spanish Bluff, Jose Angel Cabaso; at Sau Antonio, Father 
McGuire ; at the Alamo, Clement Delgado, and at Paso del Norte, Jose 
Prado. In 1830, there were regular priests at San Antonio, Goliad and 
Nacogdoches. Father Henry Doyle was the minister for the Irish colonists 
at San Patricio. In 1831, Austin's colony was visited by Father Michael 
Muldoon. At Brazoria, Mr. Muldoon was entertained by John Austin, and 
at San Felipe by Samuel M. Williams. He passed through the principal 
settlements, baptizing and marrying such as desired these rites. In the ab- 
sence of a priest, parties were married by a bond before an Alcalde. At 
Abner Kuykendall's, ou Mill creek. Father Muldoon married four couples 
and baptized over one hundred. His charge was $25 for marrying and $2 
for administering baptism. After the revolution, Galveston was erected 
into a See under Bishop Odin. The cathedral was built in 1847-8. 

When Bishop Odin was transferred to the Arch-Episcopal See of New 
Orleans, he was succeeded in the See of Galveston by Bishop Dubois. lu 
187 -i, two new dioceses were formed : that of San Antonio, Bishop Pellicer, 
and Brownsville, Bishop Mauncy. The new Bishops were consecrated by 
Bishop Perche, at Mobile, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Con- 
ception. In 1875, there were in the three dioceses eighty-three priests, 
eighty-five churches, one hundred and sixty-five chapels, and an estimated 
jiopulation of 200,000. (See statistical table below.) 

B^vPTiST. — Among the early colonists in Texas were a few belonging to 
the Baptist church. In 1825, Elder Joseph Bays visited Texas and preached 
at the house of Moses Shipman, on the Brazos. In 1829, Thomas Hanks 
preached at the same place, and the same year Thomas J. Pilgrim organized 
a Sunday school in San Felipe. A church was organized in Austin's colony 
in 1833. In 1837, Elder Z. N. Morrell organized a church in Washington. 
In 1838, Union Church, near Nacogdoches, was constituted by Elder Isaac 
Reed. In 1*839, churches were organized at Independence, Washington 
county ; at Travis, Austin county, and at Plum Grove, Fayette county. The 
Union Association was formed at Travis, October 8th, 1840. Elder Iluckins 
organized tlie church in Galveston in 1840, and that in Houston the next 
year. During IS 11 the church in Gonzales was organized by Elder Morrell. 
lu 1843, the Sabine Association was formed, five churches being represented. 




illiilil 



PROTESTANT CHURCHES. 741 

In the same year Border Church was organized in Harrison county by Elder 
Lemuel Herrin, and that in Huntsville by Elder Morrell. In 1846, Baylor 
University was chartered; Lake Soda Association was formed in 1847, and 
those of Trinity river and Ked river in 1848. The State Convention was 
organized at Anderson in 1848. From a table before us, we learn that in 
1853 there were eleven associations of the regular Baptists, and three of the 
Anti-Mission, one hundred and fifty churches, and about ten thousand mem- 
bers. In 1868, a General Association was formed in North Texas. In 1875, 
there wei-e forty-three associations, nine hundred and ninety-five churches, 
six hundred and four ordained ministers, and 54,000 members. 

Necrology. — In 1847, Rev. William M. Tryon died of yellow fever in 
Houston; in 1854, Thomas Chilton in Huntsville; 1859, J. B. Stiteler; 1865, 
Michael Ross; 1867, Noah Hill and S. G. O'Brj^an; 1868, D. B. Morrell; 
1873, R. E. B. Baylor. (See note, page 744.) 

Christians, or Disciples of Christ — Have had preachers and regular 
congregations in Texas since the days of the Republic. We have no relia- 
ble statistics of the denomination. In Governor Hubbard's speech at the 
Centennial, he places the number of their members in the State at 7,000. 

Episcopal, Protestant. — In 1838, Rev. Caleb S. Ives collected a congre- 
gation and built a church in Matagorda. The same year Rev. R. M. 
Chapman organized a parish in Houston. In 1840, Bishop Polk visited 
Texas, and in 1841 Rev. Benjamin Eaton was sent as a missionary to Gal- 
veston and Houston. Having built a church in Galveston in 1842, Mr. 
Eaton became its permanent rector, [n 1843, Rev. Charles Gillette supplied 
the parish in Houston. In 1844, Rev. G. W. Freeman was consecrated 
missionary bishop of Arkansas and Texas. The diocese of Texas was or- 
ganized at a convention held at Matagorda, January 1st, 1849. In the 
convention six clergymen represented six parishes. In 1854, there were 
reported sixteen parishes and fourteen clergymen. In 1859, Texas was 
constituted a separate diocese, and Rev. Alexander Gregg constituted bishop. 
In 1874, two new dioceses wei'e formed: that of Western Texas, Right 
Rev. W. B. Elliott, bishop, and Northern Texas, Right Rev. Alexander C. 
Garrett, bishop. In Governor Hubbard's Centennial speech he places the 
number of communicants at 3,000. 

Rev. Mr. Ives died in Matagorda in 1849, and Rev. B. Eaton in Galveston 
in 1871. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, South. — Rev. Henry Stephenson, of the 
M. E. Church, preached in Austin's colony in 1824. A camp-meeting was 
held and a church organized near San Augustine in 1833, and a similar 
meeting held and a second church organized near the residence of Rev. 
John W. Kenney, in Austin county, in 1834. In 1837, the M. E. Church 
sent three missionaries to the Republic: Rev. Martin Ruter, D.D,, Rev. R. 
Alexander, and Rev. Littleton Fowler. The Texas Annual Conference was 
organized at Rnterville by Bishop Waugh, December 25th, 1840. In 1844, 
the Church separated into two distinct organizations, the Texas Conference 



742 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



adhering to the M, E. Church South, and the same year the East Texas 
Conference was organized by Bishop Janes. The West Texas Conference 
was set off by Bishop Pierce in 1858 ; the Northwest Conference by Bishop 
Marvin, in 186G; the North Texas Conference was organized by Bishop 
M'Tyeirc, at Waxahachie, in 1867, and the German Conference was organ- 
ized by Bishop Keener, in Houston, in 1874. Tlie following figures, taken 
from the published minutes, show the number of ministers, traveling and. 
local, and members, white and colored, for the years given: 



Years. 


Itinerant. 


Local. 


White. 


Colored. 


1S40 


19 

86 

244 

. 280 

40S 


25 

182 
461 
526 
755 


1,743 

10,489 
30,661 
34,772 
72,509 


237 


IfSSO 


1,847 


I860 


7,355 


1870 


2,007 


1878 









Note. — For further information, see Thrall's History of Methodism in Texas. 

Methodist Episcopal (JVbr//i). — The Texas Conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church was organized by Bishop Simpson, in Galveston, in 1867. 
Two other Conferences were oi'ganized by Bishop Harris, in 1874; and a 
fourth by Bishop Peck, in 1876. Our latest statistics are for 187-4. There 
were then 189 traveling and 248 local preachers; 16,930 full members, and 
3,706 probationers; 105 church buildings, and 12 parsonages. Value of 
church property, $123,005. 

Methodist Episcopal, (African) . — Has two Conferences in Texas. This 
church is served by Bishops of their own color, and composed entirely of 
colored people. In 1873, they reported 5,783 full members, and 1,291 pro- 
bationei's; 91 local preachers, and 54 churches, valued at $43,609. 

Methodist Episcopal, (Colored). — Has also an efficient organization of 
Conferences, districts, circuits, etc., but we have no statistics. 

Methodist Protestant. — This body dispenses with Bishops. It has, we 
believe, two annual Conferences in Texas. We have no statistical report. 
In Governor Hubbard's Centennial speech, he places the number of mem- 
bers at 2,000. 



Presbttekian.— As early as 1834, Eev. P. H. Fullenwider, of the Pres- 
byterian Church, preached in Texas. During the summer of that year, he 
assisted in holding a camp-meeting in Austin county. In 1838, Rev. Hugh 
Wilson organized a church at San Augustine, and another at Independence. 
During the same year, Ilcv. John M'CuUough organized a church in Gal- 
veston, and llev. Wm. Y. Allen in Houston. The Brazos Presbytery was 
organized at Gay Hill, Washington county, April 3d, 1840. Two new 
Presbyteries were organized in 1850, and in 1851, a Synod was organized 
at Austin. The following are the statistics for 1877-78: Ministers 81, 



PROTESTANT CHURCHES. 743 

licentiates 1, candidates 5, chui'ches 141, elders 337, deacons 173, mem- 
bers added on examination 462, on certificate 507 ; total membership 
5,351. Adults baptized 139, infants 261, number of baptized non-commun- 
icants 1,073, number of children in Sabbath-schools and Bible classes 4,127. 
Amount contributed for sustentation $895.00, Evangelistic fund $539.00, 
invalid fund $383.00, foreign missions $796.00, education $898.00, publica- 
tion $312.00, presbyterial $597.00, pastors' salaries actually paid $34,690.00, 
congregational $20,012.00, miscellaneous $2,161.00, making a total of money 
raised $61,283.00, which is $11.45 to each communicant. 

Necrology. — Rev. John LimTser died in 1848; L. S. Gibson in 1853; 
Jerome Twitchell, lost at sea in 1856; Dr. Daniel Baker died in 1857; 
Thomas Castleton in 1865, lost at sea ; Rufus W. Baylie in 1866 ; Hugh Wil- 
son in 1868 ; John M'CulIough in 1870; Wm. C. Blair in 1873. 

PresbyteriAn {North.') — The Presbytery of Austin is a body connected 
with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, (familiarly 
known as the Northern Presbyterian (/hurch) was organized July 16th, 
1868; three ministers and an equal number of churches being represented. 
The following statistics of this bod)'' were furnished by Rev. E. B. Wright, 
of Austin, in 1875 : 12 churches, 9 ministers and one licentiate, 420 chui'ch 
members, 700 members of Sabbath-school, and raised for all purposes, 
$8,787. 

Presbyterian {Cumherland) . — Rev. Sumner Bacon, of the Cumberland 
Presbytei'ian Church, visited Texas in 1828 ; and in 1832 he was employed 
as a colporteur of the Natchez Tract Society, and assigned to work in Texas. 
In 1834, Rev. Milton Estell organized a church in Red River county ; and in 
1836, Mr. Bacon organized one near San Augustine. The first Presbytery 
was oi-ganized with the church near San Augustine, in 1837. The Red 
River and the Colorado Presbyteries were organized in 1841. The Synod 
was organized at Nacogdoches in 1842, Sumner Bacon, Moderator. The 
Brazos was organized in 1849, and the Colorado Synod in 1853. The Gen- 
eral Assembly of this church met in Jefferson, Texas, in 1875. There were 
present, Revs. Sumner Bacon and M. Estell, who organized the first 
churches of the denomination in the State ; and Rev. Mr. Await, the first 
minister of this church ordained in Texas. Our latest statistics are from 
the report to the General Assembly in 1874 : 177 ministers, 205 congrega- 
tions, 8,450 members, and jDroperty valued at $147,571. 

We annex the following, condensed from the United States census repoi'ts, 
giving all the figures furnished in reference to the various church organiza- 
tions, for the three censuses since the annexation of Texas to the Union : 



744 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



1850. 



All Deuominations A 

Euptists 

Christian 

Episcopal, Protestant 

Lutheran 

Methodist 

Presijy terian, Regular 

Presbyterian, other 

Roman Catholic 

1860. 

All Denominations 

Baptists 

Christian 

Episcopal, Protestant 

Lutlieran 

Methodist 

Presbyterian, Regular 

Presbyterian, other 

Roman Catholic 

1870. 

All Denominations 

Baptists 

Christian 

Episcopal, Protestant 

Lutheran ^ 

Methodist 

Presbyterian, Regular 

Presbyterian, other 

Roman Catholic 



341 

82 

5 

5 

2 

17(j 

45 

3 

13 



1,034 
280 
53 
19 
19 
410 
72 
52 
33 



647 
211 
17 
31 
21 
244 
70 
14 
36 



63,571 

1U,6S0 

100 

1,025 

1,300 

33.045 

8.320 

195 

6,7ti0 



271,196 

77,435 

15,4<'5 

8,528 

3,510 

103,799 

19,067 

19.350 

12,772 



199,100 

61,700 

4,450 

11,400 

7,650 

119.100 

22,750 

4,850 

16,000 



204,93(> 
21,090 
150 
15.100 
1,000 
58,195 
20,070 

74,700 



1,095,254 
228,030 

27,305 
111.250 

20,5i'0 
314,434 
120,550 

47,430 
189,900 



1,055,430 
196.540 

11.630 
J0I»,400 

47,000 
251.140 
128,500 

14.100 
264,200 



Note. — Since the above was in type, later statistics have been received. For 
the Baptist Church for 1879, reported by Rev. Wm. Carey Crane, D. D., LL. 
D., President Baylor University, Independence: — The v^rhite Baptists in Texas 
have 52 Associations; 943 ordained ministers; 75,143 members; 1,183 churches; 
and the colored Baptists have 23 Associations; 509 churches, and 50.000 members. 
Total membership, 125,143. Total value of church property, $1,015,200. 
, Rev. Mr. Wofford, editor of the Texas Observer, reports for the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church, for 1S78: — 4 Synods; 16 Presbyteries; 1S5 ordained min- 
isters ; 37 licenciates, and 37 candidates for the ministry ; about 400 congregations, 
and iS,ooo members. 

Rev. P. St. John, of Corpus Christi, reports for the Catholic Church in 
Texas: — Two Dioceses, and one Vicarate apostolic; churches and chapels, 112; 
priests, loi ; ecclesiastical students, 9; academies and convents, 25; colleges, 6; 
parochial schools, 20; charitable institutions, 4; catholic population, 104,000. 




TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE. AUSTIN. 



COMMERCE. 



Comparatively little attention has been paid to the preservation of the 
history of our commerce and navigation. As early as 1835, the late Com- 
modore Morgan sent one of his steamships, the Columbia, to Galveston. 
We believe Mr. Morgan owned a controlling interest in the steamships, 
New York, Capt. Wright, and the Neptune, Captain Rollins, which ran 
between New Orleans and Galveston in 1841-45. In 1847, by the purchase 
of the steamships Palmetto, Capt. Smith, and the Galveston, Captain Crane, 
Messrs. Harris and Morgan obtained control of the carrj'ing trade between 
New Orleans and the Texas coast. In 1848, those steamers were sent to 
Matagorda Bay, and a little later, to other points in the west ; down as low 
as Brazos St. Jago. In 1849, Captain Jerry Smith took from Matagorda 
Bay the first cargo of cattle shipped from Texas. In 1857, (Jommodore 
Vanderbilt opened a new route via Berwick Bay ; but this soon passed into 
the hands of Mr. Morgan, who gained control of the railroad from New 
Orleans to Berwick. In 1867, Mr. Morgan deepened the channel at Eed 
Fish and other bars, so that his steamers now ascend Bufialo bayou to 
Chnton, a few miles below Houston. He also purchased a controlling 
interest in the Houston and Texas Central Railway. Commodore Morgan 
died in May, 1878. 

A newspaper contributed the following sketch of one of the first sail 
vessels in the Texas trade: " This ship, the Star Republic, was originally 
a barge. She was built by Sylvester Gildersleeve, at Portland, Conn., for 
the Galveston trade in 1842. She was owned by S. Gildersleeve, Wm. 
Hendley and J. J. Hendley, and sailed fi-ora New Yoi-k on her first voyage 
the 12th day of October of that year, and arrived in Galveston on the 25th 
of the same month, making the passage in thirteen days. J. J. Hendley 
commanded her. She was consigned to Messrs. Meugurs & Garcia, mer- 
chants of Galveston. In July, 1842, she was taken to Portland, Maine, 
and changed into a ship. She sailed from New York on the 3d of October, 
the same year, and arrived in Galveston on the 18th of same month, making 
the passage in fifteen days. During her stay at Galveston, sixteen vessels 
of foreign tonnage were lying in the harbor, and the Star Republic was the 
only one that flew the American flag. This was before annexation. She 
was a fast and favoi'ite ship, and often made passages in from twelve to 
fifteen days. She was in the 6th of October hurricane off the northcst 
point of Abasco in 1844. Her foreyard broke in the slings, her maintop- 
mast was carried away, and her sails blew from the yards after they were 
furled. The light-house on Sand Key was blown down, and Key West 
inundated in the same hurricane. In September, 1855, Captain D. N. Moss 
took command of the ship, and J. J. Hendley retired from the sea and 
became a partner in the mercantile firm of Wm. Hendley & Co. This ship 
was the pioneer of the Texas and New York line of packets, and Avas the 
first vessel that flew the national flag of the Republic of Texas for her pri- 



•48 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



vate signal. She was sold in 1847 to make room for the following vessels 
of larger capacity: S. F. Austin, J. W. Fannin, AV. B. Travis, W. H. 
Wharton, Montauk, National Guard, J. C Kuhn, S. Gildersleeve and B. 
E. Milam. In 1849 she burned at sea, 150 miles north and east from Cape 
Hatteras." 

A model of this ship figures conspicuously among the curiosities that are 
preserved by Captain Hendley in his studio. 

Before the late civil war the commerce with the northern cities and 
European ports was carred on, mostly in sail vessels, though occasionally a 
steamer would engage for a short period in the trade. Since the close of 
the war, steamship lines have been established between Galveston and New 
York ; and also with European ports. We have no accurate statistics of the 
shipping business of any Texas port except Galveston; and it is, perhaps 
safe to assume that Galveston controls two-thirds of the trade of the State. 
From the '' annual review " of the News we take some figures, illustrative 
of the business of that city. 

COASTING TRADE OF GALVESTON FROM 1870 TO 1877.— NO. OF VESSELS. 



Totals for Fiscal Years. 



3 q; 



1876-7 388 407.382 

1875-6 428 485,535 



1874-5. 
1873-4. 
1872-3. 
1871-2. 
1870-1. 



460 '428 ,334 
490 450.8311 
636 5G9.206 
481 j 346.473 

522 362 ,8! to 



Totals for Fiscal Years. 



1876-7. 
1875-6. 

1874-5. 
1873-4. 
1872-3. 
1871-2. 
1870-1. 



3 ^ 



301 
311 
531 
315 
422 
49.-1 
591: 



263.792 
290,956 
2N5.970 
274,919 
424.848 
:!22.565 
349.990 



FOREIGN TRADE. 





Total for Fiscal Year ending June 30th. 


ENTERED. 




No. 


Tons. 


1877 


167 

177 
167 
206 
156 
115 
137 


99,386 


1876 


85,598 


1875 


99,175 


1S74 


124,316 


1S73 


7i».170 


1872 


50.933 


ISTl 


70.508 



CLEARED. 



No. Tons. 



165 
191 
208 
241 
175 
116 
103 



102,744 

107.192 

127.577 

145,237 

92.998 

54.589 

83,059 





A' 


'sscls. 


Tons. 


Total 
vc 


num 
ston 
clurin 
t sou, 


3er of Documented Vessels 


owned 


in 


the District of Gal- 


197 
9 
16 


9,310 


Built 


g the year. . 










239' 


Lost : 


wrecked or 


abandoned. . . . 








3S7 















FOREIGN TRADE. 



749 



The appai-ent deci-ease in the number of vessels entered coastwise may be 
aceounted for by the tact that the Morgan steamers do not generally enter 
at this port. They only touch here to land part of cargo, passengers and 
mails, after which they receive a permit to proceed to Clinton with original 
manifest, where the entry is made. 



IMPORTATIONS 



Importations of free commodities 

Importations of dutiable commodities. 

Total 




1876-77. 



$1,155,808 
201,680 



$1,147,328 $1,357,488 



COUNTRIES WHENCE IMPORTED. 





Imported From. 


Value. 

1877-78. 


Value. 
1876-77. 


Brazil 


$916,505 

965 

186.242 

38,614 

3,023 

375 

' i',664 


$1,117,739 
96 


Cuba 


England 


168,347 
52 634 


Mexico 


Germany 


9.687 


Frame 


7,945 


Central America 


British West Indies ....' 

Spain 


43 
436 


Portugal 


561 


Scotland 










Total 


$1,147,328 


$1,357,488 





EXPORTATIONS. 



Countries to which Exported 


Value. 

1877-78. 


Value. 
1876-77. 


England 


9,198.112 

1,426.819 

437.379 

685,083 


11 343 8-^1 


France 


1,426 5.M> 

l,306.s,-).s 

945 9") 1 


(Germany 


Ireland 


Norway and Sweeden 


79 '^42 


Nei herlands 


53.350 
42,444 


7-) .")00 


Italy 


43 000 


Central America 


10 000 


Mexico 


8.04.-1 
53,400 
58,500 

117963032 


8 319 


Cuba 


6,900 


Russia . ,, 


Total 


15,242 ,'747 





750 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 



DUTIES COLLECTED IN PORT OF GALVESTON, FROM 1870 TO 1878. 



I'otal 1877-78 P2.3o2 73 

Total 1S7C-77 9'i-9"^0 49 

Total 1^75-76 ^^M' 77 

Total 1S74-75 U4.136 So 

Total ls7:J-74 21Mlo 00 

Total 1S72-73 492.428 80 

Total 1n71 -72 f)72.5,S2 31 

Total 1-70-71 633.21S 19 

Total 1809-70 277,750 29 



Debt, State. — From the reports of the Comptroller, it appears that the 
State debt was, in 1872, $1,810,576 ; in 1873, $1,797,894 ; in 1874, $3,425,328 ; 
in 1875, $5,551,637; in 1876, $6,067,836; in 1877, $6,116,924; in 1878, 
$5,121,911. 




•"^ 


f 




If 

1 


1 


1 


^1' 

jl 


1 

\ 



li 



OLEANDER GROVE, GALVESTON, TEXAS. 



EDUCATION, 



Under Spanish and Mexican domination, the law contemplated the estab- 
lishment of public free schools, where elementary instructions should be 
given, but none such were estabhshed. Almonte, in his report of the state 
of society in Texas, in 1834, mentioned three schools in the province taught 
by private teachers. One of these schools was in San Antonio, the teacher 
receiving $25 per month from his patrons ; another was in Brazoria, and 
the third at Jonesburg, on Eed river. 

1836. In their Declaration of Independence the Texans complain that 
Mexico had failed to provide the means of instruction which had been 
promised to the children of the colonists. Section 10 of the general pro- 
visions of the constitution of 1836, declares : " It shall be the duty of Con- 
gress, as soon as circumstances will admit, to provide by law a general 
system of education." 

1839. Congress gave fifty leagues of land for a State University, and 
three leagues to each county for school purposes. 

1840. Congress gave all counties an additional league of school land, and 
extended the privilege to all counties that should be organized in the future. 

1845. The Constitution, article 10, says: " The Legislature shall, as early 
as practicable, establish free schools throughout the State, and shall furnish 
means for their support by taxation on property." One-tenth of all the rev- 
enue was set apart for school purposes. 

1849. Governor Wood, in his message to the Legislature, calls attention 
to the subject of education thus: <'The Constitution of our State enjoins 
upon the Legislature the duty of making suitable provisions as early as 
practicable, for the support and maintenance of free public schools." 

1854. The school fund of the State amounted to $128,668. To this was 
added this year $2,000,000 of the amount received from the United States 
for the sale of the Santa Fe territory. Laws were made for the distribu- 
tion, pro rata, of the interest of the school fund to the various counties, the 
money to be applied to the payment of the tuition of indigent children. 
Under the law of 1854, money was distributed as follows : 

No. Money Per 

Pupils. Distributed. Capita. 

loKK „ 65,463 f 40.587 ^.63 

joKR 72826 101.588 1.38 

illj 87,000 106 000 1.21 

{^rj 102,772 105,815 1.03 

io?Q ; 101,031 113,154 1.12^ 

lofin 104,477 104,447 1.00 

l8Tl^v/^\v^\v^v^y^'^'■'■'■'■'■'■'■'■'■ 105,200 65,224 .02 

The first free school established in the State was in the city of San Anto- 
nio, in 1854. The Comptroller of the treasury was then ex-ojfficio Superin- 
tendent of Instruction. 

After the war the Constitution of 1866 reaffirmed the article in the Consti- 
tution of 1845, and also set apart every alternate section of land, surveyed 
by railroads, to school purposes. A State School Board was created, and 
Pryor Lea appointed Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was suc- 
ceeded in the summer of 1867, by E. M. Wheelock. 



754 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

1868. The Keconstruction Convention set apart all the proceeds of thw 
sales of public lands for school purposes, and to this sum added one-fourth 
of the State revenue, and a poll-tax of one dollar ^on each male citizen 
between twenty-one and sixty years of age. The permanent school fund 
amounted at this time to, say, $2,000,000. 

By this Constitution, all between the ages of six and eighteen years, 
were included in the scholastic population. It also required the Legisla- 
ture to establish public free schools throughout the State, for at least four 
months in each year ; and set apart to the school-fund all the proceeds of the 
sales of public lands; a poll-tax of one dollar from every male citizen 
between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years, and also set apart one- 
fourth of tiie revenue for school purposes. 

In the United States census tables for 1870, it is stated that 65,205 
children attended school — of whom 61,016 were white, and 4,189 colored. 
Cost of education during the year, including colleges, academies, etc., 
414,870 ; of which $7oO was from endowment, $15,220 from school fund, 
and $398,890 from tuition. . • 

Illiteracy; 1850-1870. — In 1850, there were 10,525 whites over twenty- 
one years of age, unable to read and write. Of this number 2,488 were 
foreign-born. In 1860, the number of white illiterates was 18,414 ; of whom 
6,644 were foreign-born. In 1870 there were illiterates, over twenty-one 
years of age, white, 37,150; and colored 94,818. Including all illiterates, 
ten years old and upwards, thei-e were 221,705 ; of whom 70,845 were white, 
(including 18,369 foreign-born), and 150,617 colored. 

In 1871, a school board was organized, consisting of the Governor, Attor- 
ney-General and Superintendent of Public Instruction. John C. Degrees 
filled the latter office. A system of free schools was inaugurated through- 
out the State. The first annual report represented that 1,324 schools had 
been opened, taught by 1,578 teachers; and into which 73,804 pupils had 
been enrolled. In 1872, the scholastic population amounted to 228,355 ; 
entered schools, 127,672; taught by 2,625 teachers; average attendance, 
81,653 ; total cost, $1,222,221 ; of which the State paid $482,753; the remain- 
der paid by the counties, cost per month, $1.43. In 1873, the scholastic 
population was 280,000; entered public schools, 129,000 ; average attend- 
ance, 83,000; number of teachers, 2,207; average salary of teachers, $57 
per month. 

In 1874, O. N. Hollinsworth, Superintendent of Public Insti'uction ; 
scholastic population, 313,061 ; entered public schools, 161,670; cost per cap- 
ita per month, $1.56, or for four months, the time required by the Constitu- 
tion, $6.24; equal to $1,008,820. 

The State school fund derived from school bonds, poll tax, and one-fourth 
of the revenue derived from taxation, amounted to $546,985. The Legisla- 
ture appropriated $500,000, to be distributed pro rata to the several counties. 
In 1875, the scholastic population amounted to 339,000. Appropriated to 
each child, $1.47§. 

It is estimated that for the year 1878-9, $900,000 may be appropriated for 
the public schools. The scholastic population, as far as reported to the 
Comptroller's office, is as follows: 



EDUCATION. 



755 



SCHOLASTIC POPULATION. 
[Between eight and fourteen years of age.] 



CSOUNTIES. 



Anderson . , 
Angelina . . , 
Arau;«as . . . 
Atascosa . . . 
Austin . . . , 
Bandera. ... 
Bastrop — 

Bee 

Bell 

Bexar 

Blanco 

Bosque 

Bowie 

Brazoria . . 
Brazos .... 

Brown 

Burleson . . 

Burnet 

Caldwell . . 

Calhiiin 

(.'allahuu . . . 
Cameron . . 

Camp 

Cass 

Chambers . 
Cherokee. . 

Clay 

Coleman . . 

Collin 

Colorado . . 

Comal 

Comanche . 

Cook 

Coryell.... 

Dallas 

Delta 

Denton 

Dewitt 

Duval .... 
Eastland . . 
Edwards . . 

Ellis 

El Paso . . . 

Erath 

Falls 

Fannin 

Fayette — 
Fort Bend . 
Franklin . . 
Freestone . 

Frio 

Galveston . 
Gillespie . . 

Goliad 

Gonzales . 
Grayson . . . 

Grogg 

Grinv'S. . . . 
Guadalupe 
Hamilton. . 

Hardin 

Harris 

Harrison . . . 
Hays 



1878. 



2,069 

917 

145 
1,001 
2,220 

311 
1,7>3 

370 
2,119 
1,033 

505 
1,422 
1.035 
1,623 
1,799 
1.133 
1.293 

'831 
1,457 

201 

191 
1,660 

653 
1,980 

295 
2,207 

2S1 

429 
3,275 
2,397 
1,237 
1,086 
2,359 
1,849 
2,913 

7(i8 
2,446 
1,732 

629 

661 

49 

2,887 

628 
1,771 
2 250 
3,753 
3,856 
1,374 

613 
1,800 

321 
2,878 

841 

740 
1,891 
6,010 
1,048 
2,610 
1,383 

854 

2()8 
3.952 
3,490 
1,132 



1877 



1,746 
834 
145 
913 

1,633 
260 

1,668 
321 

1,583 

'587 
456 

1,141 
680 
904 

1,371 
772 
940 
760 
885 
193 
104 

1,708 
551 

1,819 
288 

1,814 
247 
271 

2,584 

1,782 
784 
962 

1,650 

1,399 

3,409 
660 

1,820 

1,364 



348 



1,534 

628 

1,429 

1,653 

2.342 

2,»85 

963 

522 

1,323 

102 

2,669 

729 

517 

1,-547 

3,464 

869 

3,082 

1,270 

726 

215 

3.082 

4.(108 

919 



Counties. 



Henderson 

Hidalgo 

Hill 

Hood 

Hopkius 

Houston 

Hunt 

Jack 

•lackson 

Jasper 

Jert'erson 

Johnson 

Karnes 

Kaufman 

Kendall 

Kerr 

Kimble 

Kinney 

Camar 

Lampasas 

Lavaca 

Lee 

Leon 

Liberty 

Limestone 

Live Oak 

Llano 

Madi>ou 

Marion 

Mason 

Matagorda. , . . 

Maverick 

McCulloch 

McLenuan 

McMullen 

M. diua 

Menard 

Milam 

Montague . . . 
Montgomery. . 

Morris 

Nacogdoches. . 

Navarro , 

Newton 

Nueces 

Orange 

Palo I'iuto 

Panola 

Parker , 

Pecos 

Polk. 

I'residio 

Rains 

lied Kiver. . . . 

liefugio 

Rolicrtson . 

Rockwell 

Runnels 

Rusk 

Sabine 

San Augustine 
San Jacinto. . . 
San Patricio . . 
San Saba 



1878. 



1877 



1,411 


1,411 


399 


41 4 


1,938 


1,053 


732 


6;;4 


2.429 


2,1)19 


2,214 


1.026 


1.849 


1,849 


629 


493 


416 


317 


930 


777 


460 


830 


2.236 


1,976 


407 


407 


1,881 


1.216 


390 


33S 


276 


209 


127 


94 


280 


208 


3,31)9 


2,643 


775 


541 


1,727 


629 


966 


892 


1,.535 


1,699 


782 


494 


1,968 


1,417 


220 


182 


624 


610 


713 


582 


1,817 


1.390 


280 


226 


579 


406 


295 


186 


1!»4 


207 


3,424 


2,755 


72 


50 


751 


609 


102 


84 


2,007 


1,526 


l,2:rs 


1,097 


794 


714 


692 


516 


1.8.55 


1 579 


2.781 


2,153 


681 


604 


926 


665 


429 


322 


680 


519 


1,.545 


1.58S 


2,121 


1,4.53 


122 


146 


1,127 


861 


24S 


161 


455 


347 


2,178 


1.773 


199 


192 


2,800 


2,100 


366 


279 


50 




3,176 


2.144 


. 745 


665 


678 


804 


966 


845 


110 


110 


673 


553 



756 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 
SCHOLASTIC POFVhATlON.— Continued. 



Counties. 



Shackelford. 

Slifllty 

Smith 

>>iiiei'vell... 

!5t..n- 

Stephens . . . 

Tanint 

Tavlor 

Titus . .. 
T'>ra Green. 

Travis 

Trinity 

Tyler 

Upshur , 

Uvalde 

Van Zandt... 

Victoria 

Walker 

Waller 

Washington. 

Webb 

Wharton 



1878, 


1S77. 


185 


112 


1,500 


1,196 


2,8B6 


2,119 


378 


243 


1,007 


897 


397 


148 


2,27-t 


3,9(i(5 


89 


58 


833 


728 


179 


102 


4.700 


2,386 - 


G12 


4S3 


850 


796 


1,393 


926 


291 


258 


1.413 


1,467 


1,.3S7 


962 


1.606 


1.226 


1,439 


861 


3,572 


2,578 


450 


350 


543 


626 



Counties. 



Williamson 

Wilson 

Wi>e 

Wood 

Youno; 

Zapata 

CITIES. 

Tyler 

Breuham 

Greenville 

Dallas. >. 

Gainesville 

Castroville 

Navasota 

H'tney Grove. . . 

San Antonio 

Paris 



Fort Worth ... 
Corpus Christi. 

Lawrence 

Rockdale 



1878. 



,476 
921 
.S07 
.3(13 
462 
173 



663 



,352 
211 
1.53 
184 
lo5 
,511 
705 
677 
442 
54 
158 



1877. 



1,476 

606 

1.571 

1,000 

298 

173 

218 

288 

82 

1,210 



1,526 
440 
417 



Total, 1877. 
Total, 1878. 



160.017 
207.168 



Note. — Reports received at the last moment show scholastic census of the following 
couniies: Fort Bend, 1,374; Harrison, 3.490; Webb, 451; Menard, 102; Clay, 3')1; 
Shackelford, 185; Lampasas, 775. Dallas city supplemental report adds 566 to the first 
report. 



Higher Schools. — The report of the Commissioner of Education at 
Washington has never been full as to Texas institutions of learning. With- 
out entering into minute details, we may state that since an?iexation, the 
leading Christian denominations have had schools under their supervision 
where the higher classes and mathematics and sciences have been taught. 
The Baptists have two Universities; one at Independence, Washington 
county, and the other at Waco, M'Lennan county. The Cumberland Pres- 
byterians have the Trinity University, at Tehuacana, Limestone county. 
The Methodists, the Southwestern University, at Georgetown, William«on 
county ; Soule University, at Chappell Hill, and a number of other institu- 
tions in different parts of the State. The Old School Presbyterians have 
Austin College, first at Iluntsville, but recently transferred to Sherman. 
There are also, probably scores of academies and high schools for both 
sexes, in successful operation in different parts of the State. 

State Agricultur.vl and MEcnANiCAL College at Bryan, or rather 
College Station, Brazos county. By an act of Congress, the United States 
gave to the State of Texas 180,000 acres of land scrip to found an Agricul- 
tural College. The scrip was sold in 1871 for $156,600 ; and the same year 
the college was located on the Central Railroad, about four miles south of 
Bryan, and a contract let out for a building, to be of brick, on a foundation 




THE LAND OFFICE OF TEXAS. AUSTIN. 



EDUCATION. 759 

of stone, 78x150 feet, covered with slate. In 1875, a Board of Dii-ectors 
wasappointed, of whom the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Speaker 
of the House were ex-qfficio members; in addition to which there was 
appointed one from each Congressional district, as follows : E. B. Pickett, 
Charles De Morse, Isaac F. Graves, H. H. Davis, C. S. West — Mr. West 
resigned in 1876, and A. J. Peeler was put in his place — and S. F. Stock- 
dale. The Board met and selected gentlemen for the different professor- 
ships, and the school opened on the 4th of October, 1876. The Legislature, 
at different times, appropriated the following sums for the college build- 
ings: In 1871, $75,000 ; 1874, $40,000 ; and in 1875, $32,000.* 

* The following were appointed professors at the organization : Thos. S. Garthright 
(Mississippi), President; Alexander Hogg (Alabama), professor pure mathematics; E. 
P. W. Morris (Austin), professor applied mathematics and tactics ; John T. Hand 
(Tyler), professor belles lettres, English literature, Latin and Greek; C. P. B. Martin 
(Montgomery county), professor agricultural chemistry; Wm. A. Banks (Austin), pro- 
fessor modern languages; Gen. Hamilton P. Bee, steward and general superintendent. 
At the meeting of the Board of Directors, in 1878, Gen. L. M. Lewis, of Missouri, was 
appointed to a professorship, and the office of steward and general superintendent 
dispensed with. 



41 



LIVE STOCK. 



Cattle.— The fathers who fouuded the old missions, introduced some 
domestic auimals into Texas. In 1821-22, Abner Kuykeudall brought to 
the Brazos seventy head of cattle; and th-e next year, Randall Jones, 
in Louisiana, traded a negro man for sixty head, which he introduced into 
Port Bend county. In 1831, Messrs. M'Neil and Bingham had each 600 
head, and Taylor White, on the Trinity, had 3,000. Almonte estimated 
that in 1834 the department of the Brazos had 25,000 head of cattle, and 
that of Nacogdoches, 50,000 head. 

There were in Texas in 1846, 382,783 head of cattle; in 1855, 1,363,688; in 
1860, 3,786,443; in 1865, 2,741,358; in 1870,3,651,310; in 1875,3,182,904; 
in 1876, 2,810,309— valued at $15,023,701. In 1877, 3,413,356, valued at 
$18,931,356. The reports of the Agricultural Department at Washington 
vary considerably from those of our own Comptroller. For instance, in 
1870, the Comptroller's repoi't places the number of cattle at 3,651,316, 
valued at $13,581,272; and the agricultural report for the same year makes 
the number of stock cattle 3,500,000, valued at $21,350,000 ; and to this adds, 
milch cows number 615,000, valued at $6,562,000 — total number, 4,115,000; 
total value, $27,912,000; an enormous increase over the assessed number 
and value. 

The cattle of Texas are now driven north to market. In 1873, and again 
in 1874, about 200,000 were taken across Red river and exp orted by water. 
In 1875, 116,000 crossed Red river; in 1876, 151,000; and it was estimated 
that over 300,000 were taken out over that route in 1877. 

Goats and Hogs. — See statistics of wealth ; articles taxed. 

Horses and Mules. — In the Comptroller's reports these come in one 
class. Number in 1846, 35,648, valued at $1,510,950. Number in 1850, 
89,223; 1855, 177,444, valued at $7,803,588; 1860, 330,807, valued at $15,899,- 
430 ; 1865, 451,400, valued at $14,015,877 ; 1870, 625,585, valued at $16,437,- 
075 — (the agricultural report for the same year places the whole luimber at 
702,500, valued at $27,507,874) ; in 1874 there were 871,278, valued at 
$21,187,030; 1875,838,232, valued at $20,792,220; 1876, 848,084, valued at 
$19,371,347; 1877, 985,581, valued at $20,507,477. Notwithstanding the 
general impression that Texas is a great country for cattle, the above figures 
show that horses and mules exceed in value by millions, the value of horned 
cattle. Again, notwithstanding the great value of our live stock, one good 
cotton crop of 800,000 bales, on a good market, would bring in enough 
money to buy all the cattle, horses and mules in the State ! 

Sheep.— In 1865, there were in the State, 941,413; in 1870, 1,047,986; in 
1874, 1,632,971; in 1876, 2,601,071; in 1877, 2,582,610; valued at $3,092,680. 
The sheep and wool business in the State is yet in its infancy. 

760 



PENITENTIARIES. 



In the year 1846 the Legislature made provision for establishing a State 
penitentiary, and the next year it was located at Hnntsyille. James 
Gillespie was Superintendent and Abner H. Cook, Contractor. During the 
years 1848-49, 11,000 square yards were inclosed with a brick wall and 
buildings erected containing 240 cells. This was done mostly by convicts. 
The first convict was received October 1st, 1849. In 1850, ten were admit- 
ted and nine remained at the close of the year. Twenty-seven were ad- 
mitted in 1851; lort}--three in 1852; thirty-one in 1853; thirty-six in 1854; 
thirty-nine in 1855 ; forty-three in 1856, and tifty in 1857. At the close of 
1857, out of 280 admitted, there were 102 still in the institution. 

in 1856, machinery was procured for the manufacture of cotton and 
woolen goods, and a building erected for the machinery, 270x50 feet. Forty 
cotton looms and 286 spindles were put in operation, and 200 spindles for 
wool. 

1861-1864.— During the war Thomas Caruthers was Superintendent. In 
a report to the Legislature, August 31st, 1863, Mr. Caruthers reported that 
in twenty-one months there had been manufactured 2,233,587 yards of 
Osnaburgs, 406,025 yards cotton jeans, and 322,890 yards Kerseys, etc. The 
income of the institution amounted to $1,521,687, largely in excess of ex- 
penditures. 

In 1865 there were 118 convicts; in 1866, James Gillespie was Superin- 
tendent — 298 convicts — classed : 98 Americans, 35 Mexicans, 155 negro men 
and 10 women. In 1867 Thaddeus C. Bell was Superintendent ; 483 convicts, 
179 of whom were employed on railroads, under the supervision of the 
Public Labor Board. In 1870, A. J, Bennet, Superintendent ; 484 convicts. 
1871, 994 convicts. On the 5th of July, the Penitentiary was leased to 
"Ward, Dewey & Co., for fifteen years — the lessees to have the use of the 
buildings and labor of the convicts; and to pay the State, for the first five 
years, Iig5,000 per annum; for the next five years $10,000 per annum; and 
for the last five years $20,000 per annum. 

In 1872, A. D. Malloy, Inspector. In September, 1873, there were 883 
convicts. 1874, J. K. P. Campbell, Inspector; 1454 convicts of whom 676 
were kept in the grounds at Iluntsville and the others hired out on rail- 
roads, plantations, etc. 

In 1875 provision was made for locating two additional penitentiaries, one 
east of Trinity, and one west of the Colorado. The Commissioners locaLcd 
them respectively at Rusk, and at San Marcos. Five thousand acres of land 
were purchased near Rusk, upon wliich a suitable building has been 
erected. It was completed early in January, 1879. The foundation is laid 
with iron cfre rock, and the remainder with yellow ochre rock. The cell 
house is divided into two wings, each 273 feet long, 42 feet wide, by 40 odd 
feet high. Each of these wings contains a double tier of cells, four cells 
high ; each tier contains 264 cells. Total number of cells, 528. These cells 
are eight by six. The domestic building contains on the ground floor one 

761 



762 HISTO.EY OF TEXAS. 

dining-room, 40x100; one kitchen, 25x40; bakery, 20x40; one store-room^ 
10x26; one laundry, 40x45; one drying-room, 10x26. The second floor 
contains chapel, 40x100; one hospital, 40x40, with medicine room over 
staircase. Library, 25x34, and one epidemic hospital, 20x40. 

Complaints having been made to the Governor, of the treatment of con- 
victs, a Commission was appointed, who, after investigating the subject, 
reported that there were grounds for the complaints. 

In 1876 there were 1,723 convicts, of whom 1280 were hired to outside 
parties. H. K. "White, Inspector. 

1877, April 2d, the Contractors, Ward, Dewey & Co., retui-ned the Peni- 
tentiary to the control of the State Executive, who leased it to Burnett & 
Kilpatrick. There were 1,582 convicts. Ou the 16th of December it was 
leased to E. H. Cunningham, of Bexar county. 




MARKET HOUSE, HOUSTON. 



POPULATION. 



It is supposed that in the year 1744 there were 1,500 Europeans in 
Texas and an equal number of civiUzed Indians. Twenty years later there 
were only about half as many. lu 1806 there were 7,000; in 1830, 20,000; 
in 1836, Mr. Mortit estimated the population at 52,470. In 1847 the first 
census was taken. There were then 100,508 wliites, ten free negroes, and 
35,267 slaves. Total, 135,775. 

The following is from the census reports : 



Census Reports. 



Total Population 

Whites 

Colored 

Native Born .... 
Foreign Born. . . 



1870. 



818,579 
567,700 
253,475 
756,168 
66,411 



1860. 



604,215 
430,891 
182,921 
560,793 
43,422 



1850. 



212,592 
154,034 

58,558 
194,433 

17,681 



Population, Nativity of. — As reported in 1870, 254,091 white, and 
134,306 colored, were natives of Texas; 41,663 white, and 20,550 colored, 
were natives of Alabama; 38,849 white, and 11,772 colored, were boru 
in Tennessee; 28,639 white, and 13,805 colored, in Mississippi; 26,326 
white, and 14,801 colored, in Georgia; 17,608 white, and 6,608 colored, 
were natives of Arkansas; 11,233 white, and 7,421 colored, natives of 
North Carolina; 15,235 white, and 12,045 colored, natives of Louisiana; 
10,569 white, and 7,155 colored, were from South Carolina; 8,480 white, 
and 13,683 colored, from Virginia. 

Foreign Born. — Besides the 62,411 reported in 1870 as foreign born, 107,- 
327 had one or both parents foreign born. Of the foreign born, 23,976 were 
Germans, 22,510 Mexicans, and 6,753 were from Great Britain. Cameron 
county has the largest foreign born population — 6,266 Mexicans. Bexar 
reports 2,309 Mexicans and 1,829 Germans. Other counties having a large 
German population were: Fayette, 2,128; Austin, 2,110; Galveston, 1,923; 
Comal, 1,878; Harris, 1,834; Washington, 1,701; Gillespie, 1,245; Dewitt, 
544; Colorado, 776; Guadalupe, 736; Bastrop, 937; Travis, 641; Starr 
county, 2,846 Mexicans; Hidalgo, 1,602; Nueces, 1,266; Maverick, 1,120; 
El Paso, 1,024 ; Webb, 954, and PresicUo, 772. 

Present Population. — Approximately, our present population is 2,000,- 
000. A little less than 500,000 are assessed for the poll tax ; and estimating 
four persons for each one taxed, the population would fall a Uttle short of 
two millions ; it is pnobably above that number. 



765 



RAILROADS. 



It would be tedious and unprofitable to enumerate the numerous 
charters for railroads during the Republic. No roads were built or even 
commenced. In 1852, preliminary surveys were made upon two lines of 
road, and some work done : the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado road, 
and the Memphis and El Paso road. Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado 
road, gauge four feet eight and a half inches, was commenced under the 
supervision of General Sidney Sherman, at Harrisburg, in 1852. The sec- 
ond locomotive west of the Mississippi was on this road. It reached 
Stafford's Point in 1853, Walker's in 1854, and Richmond, thirty-two 
miles from its initial point, in 1855. The Brazos was crossed by a tempo- 
rary bridge, nearly on a level with the water. It reached the Colorado at 
Eagle Lake, sixty-five miles, in 1859; Alleytou in 1860, and Columbus, 
where the Colorado was bridged, in 1866. By an act of the Legislature, in 
1870, the charter was changed, and San Antonio became its objective point. 
Since that period it has been known as the '' Sunset Route," or the C, H. 
& S. A. Railway. Thomas W. Pierce, of Boston, became the President 
and principal owner of the road. It reached Shulenburg in 1873 ; Luling 
in 1874, and Kingsbury in 1875. In January, 1876, the citizens of Bexar 
county voted the company $300,000 in county bonds, to secure the speedy 
construction of the road to San Antonio. It reached the Guadalupe river 
at Marion, 184 miles from Harrisburg, in September, 1876. In Januai'y, 
1877, the terminus for passengers was changed from Harrisburg to Houston. 
On the 15th of January it reached San Antonio. From this point it may 
be extended to the Rio Grande by any route the company may select. As 
the road is now built, it has a length of 215 miles, of which thirty-six miles 
are steel rail, and the remainder of the best iron T rails, and all fish plated. 
There are 14 3-10 miles of pile and trestle bridges, 1,401 lineal feet of iron 
truss bridges, and 3,112 feet of combination truss bridging on the line, all of 
which are iironounced by competent judges as first-class in every respect and 
the entire road as A No. 1 in every particular of its component parts, in- 
cluding track. 

Officers. — Thomas W. Pierce, President ; H. B. Andrews, Vice-President; 
Charles Babbidge, Ti-easurer and Assistant Secretary; Jacob E. Fisher, 
Secretary, Assistant Treasurer and Auditor; James Converse, Chief En- 
gineer and General Superintendent. General offices: Houston, Texas. 

STATIONS AND DISTANCES, <' SUNSET ROUTE." 

^liles. Stations. Miles. 

Galveston 

Houston 212 

Harrisburg 214 

8 Pierce Junction. 206 

19 Stafford 193 

766 



EAILEOADS. 767 

26 Walker 188 

32 Richmond 182 

42 Randon 172 

51 East Bernard 163 

60 West Bernard 154 

68 Eagle Lake 146 

81 Alleyton 133 

81 Columbus 130 

94 Borden 120 

100 Weimar 114 

109 Schulenburg 105 

122 Flatonia 92 

134 Waelder 80 

147 Harwood 67 

156 . c Luling 58 

168 Kingsbury 46 

178 Seguin 36 

189 Marion 25 

200 Converse 13 

213 , San Antonio ". 

Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad. — In 1856-7 twenty-five 
miles of this road was built from Virginia Point, opposite Galveston, toward 
Houston, and reached the southern suburb of that city in 1858. Galveston 
voted $100,000 in bonds to build a bridge fi-om the Island to the main land, 
which was completed in 1860. In 1863, by order of General Magruder, the 
road was extended through the city of Houston, to connect with the Texas 
Central road. In 1876, the gauge was changed from the broad to the 
standard gauge. Line of road, Galveston to Houston, 50 miles ; sidings 
and other tracks, 12.50 miles; gauge, 4 feet 8h inches; rail, 56 pounds. 
During the year 1876 the whole road was thoroughly repaired and fish-bar 
rails substituted in the place of the chair rails on all but nine miles of the 
main track, and new bridges constructed over several small creeks and 
bayous, while the bay bridge, H miles, was replied and strengthened 
throughout. The track has been raised and ballasted with shell and sand, 
a locomotive and train of cars having been constantly and exclusively em- 
ployed on this work for more than a year. This company has also fitted up 
large, commodious and dry cotton yards, where that staple can be handled 
with greater dispatch and be free from destruction by fire. 

The stations on this road are: Galveston, Pooleville, Eagle Grove, Vir- 
ginia Point, Highland, Dickinson, Clear Creek, AVebsterville, Summit, 
Allen's, Harrisburg and Houston, of which all except Galveston, Houston 
and Harrisburg are nominally meeting points. 

Rolling stock consists of fifteen locomotives, nine passenger cars, six 
baggage, mail and express cars, 242 freight cars. 

Officers. — John Sealy, President; H. M. Iloxie, Vice-President and Man- 
ager; F. P. Killecn, Secretary; J. IL Hutchiiigs, Treasurer; O. G. Murray, 
General Freight and Passenger Agent; J. II. Crowley, Master of Trans- 
portation; John G. Conlon, Master Mechanic. 



768 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Houston and Texas Central Railroad.— This was originally chartered 
as the Galveston and lied Eiver Head. Its gauge was five and a half feet. 
It was first chartered in 1848. In 1852 the charter was amended and work 
was commenced in 1853. Paul Bremond took out the first shovel-full of 
dirt in the city of Houston. Compared with roads built more recently, its 
progress was slow. It reached Cypress, twenty-five miles, in 1856 ; Hock- 
ley, ten miles further, in 1857, and Hempstead, fifty miles from Houston, 
in 1858; Navisota in 1859, andMillican, eighty miles from Houston, in 1860. 
After the "war closed, work was resumed, and the road reached Bryan, 100 
miles, in 1867; Calvert, 130 miles, in 1868; Bremond, 115 miles, in 869; 
Groesbeck, 170 miles, in 1870; Corsicana, 210 miles in 1871. From Corsi- 
cana onward, the gauge was changed to the standard gauge, and subse- 
quently, the entire road was made to conform to that gauge. The road 
reached M'Kinney in 1872, and in March, 1873, reached Denison, where it 
formed a junction with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Eoad, opening con- 
nection with St. Louis. In 1876, the road passed into the control of Com- 
modore Charles Morgan. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

Houston 311 

5 Eureka 336 

12 Gum Island 329 

18 ...Thompson's 322 

25 Cypress 315 

35 Hockley 305 

40 Waller 300 

50 Hempstead 290 

62 Courtney 278 

70 Navasota 270 

80 Millican 260 

88 Wellborn 252 

99 Brj^an 241 

107 Benchley 233 

113 Sutton 227 

120 Hearne 220 

128 Calvert 212 

137 Hammond „ 203 

142 = . . . Bremond 198 

155 Kosse ] 85 

101 Thornton 179 

170 Groesbeck 170 

1 81 Mexia I59 

189 '. Wortham 151 

199 Richland 141 

211 Corsicana 129 

221 Rice 120 

231 Ennis HO 

239 Palmer 102 

240 Ferris 95 

254 Hutohins 87 




VIEW OF SAN PEDRO SPRINGS, SAN ANTONIO. 



EAILEOADS. 



771 



j^Iiles Stations. Miles. 

265..* Dallas • 76 

277 Kichardson 64 

282 = Piano ^9 

29(5 o McKiiiney 45 

3Q2 Melissa ^^ 

oi 9 Van Alstyne 20 

319 Howe -- 

329 Sherman 1^ 

34]^ ..Deuison " 

Officers. 
C. A. Wlutney, New Orleans, president; G. Jordan, Houston, vice-presi- 
dent; A. S. Richardson, Houston, secretary ; E. W. Cave, Houston, treas- 
urer; A. H. Swanson, Houston, general superintendent; J. Waldo, 
general freight and ticket agent. 

Line of Boad. 

Miles. 

Main line— Houston to Denison 343 

Branches— Hempstead to Austin 115 

Bremond to Waco 47—162 

Total length of lines owned and operated by the company 505 

Siding and other tracks, 65 miles; gauge, 4 feet 8^ inches; rail, 56 lbs, 

Houston and Texas Central ( Western Branch) .—Twenty-five miles of 
this road from Hempstead to Brenham was completed in 1865; in 1869, it 
was extended to Burton, thirteen miles west of Brenham ; in 1870, to Led- 
better; and in 1871, to Austin, 165 miles from Houston. Stations and 
towns on the line : 



Houston to Hempstead 



Bliles. 
... 50 



Chappell Hill ^1 

Brenham * 



Burton . 



84 



Ledbetter ^^ 

Giddings ^^^ 

Paige 1^' 

MacDade 12^ 

Elgin ^^'^ 



Manor 



/ . !.■)() 



« Austin ^^ 

{Waco Branch) .—WsiS built from Bremond to Marlin, eighteen miles, in 
1870 ; and reached Waco, forty-five miles, in 1871. In 1877, this road was 
extended in a northwestern direction eleven miles to White Rock; making 
it fifly-six miles from Bremond. Stations and distances ; 



772 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Miles^ 

Houston 

142 Breiuond 

9 Reasau : 1^^ 

9 Marian ^^^ 

8 Perry ^^^ 

10 Harrison ^"^^ 



n Waco 



18T 



11 White Rock 1»!^ 

The following statement of the condition of the roads now in progress at 
Galveston, is from the " Annual Review " for September, 1878: 

Galveston AVhauf Company's Railroad. — Directory. — J. L. Darragh^ 
I. Dyer, J. G. DuflBeld, John Sealy, C G. Wells and H. Rosenberg on the 
part of the company, with his honor Mayor D. C. Stone and aldermen J. 
H. Hurt and J. Runge on the part of the city. J. L. Darragh, president, 
Thos. C. Shearer, acting secretary. 

Line of road, 2| miles; gauge, 4 feet, 8^ inches; rail, 56 lbs. This road 
was constructed by the AVharf Company to connect the Galveston, Houstoa 
and Henderson, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe and others that may here- 
after be constructed Avith the different wharves, so that freight cars can be 
loaded and unloaded directly alongside of ships lying at the various wharves. 
It commences on Thirty-seventh street, Galveston, where it intersects the 
Galveston Houston and Henderson, runs thence in a northeasterly direc- 
tion to Thirty-fifth street, where it meets the Gulf, Colorado and Santa 
Fe road, thence runs east on Avenue A to the eastern portion of the city, 
with l)ranches extending directly on the New wharf, Lufkin's wharf, the 
New York Steamship wharf, the Brick w^harf and Morgan's Line wharf. 

Galveston, Brazos and Colorado, {In Progress) . — Line of road, 15^ 
miles; gauge of road, 3 feet; rails, 30 lbs. Rolling stock: 3 locomotives, 4 
passenger cars, 89 freight cars. Entire cost, $165,000. 

This road is now in the hands of David E. Small and Edward Samuels, of 
Pennsylvania, represented in Galveston by Messrs. Sloan & Gonzales. The 
road having been in the hands of lessees during the greater part of the sea- 
son, and no report having been made, it is impossible to give report of 
operations. The road and rolling stock have been put in good order and 
the rt)ad is being worked to its utmost capacity. Negotiations are in pro- 
gress looking to an early extension of the line. 

Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railw\t. Officers. — M. Kopperl, pres- 
ident; Jas. Sorley, vice president; C. C. Allen, secretary; R. J. John, treas- 
urer; George B. Nichols, superintendent; B. M. Temple, chief engineer. 

Line of road (completed) : Galveston to the Brazos river, 48 miles ; 
gauge, 4 feet 8i inches; rails, 56 lbs. 

A contract has recently been made with Messrs. Denistown, Cross & Co., 
a responsible firm of London, England, for placing $2,700,000 of the compa- 
ny's first mortgage bonds, which sum, with the local aid subscribed on the 
line of the road, it is estimated will be sufficient to complete and equip the 



RAILEOADS. 773 

road to Belton, Bell county, a distance of 220 miles from Galveston. Thi& 
contract has been approved by the board of directors, and will be ratified 
by the stockholders at a general meeting. 

At the present terminus of the road on the Brazos river, a substantial all- 
iron bridge, 485 feet, is being erected, and in a short time will be crossing 
that stream. The grade will be completed to the eighty-first mile by the 
15th of October, 1878, and the rails and fastenings have been purchased and 
are on the way to finish the road, under the construction contract to that 
point, at Bovine Bend, by the 28tli of November. By the 31st of October, 
1878, the road will be completed to Richmond, 63 miles from Galveston, 
there forming a connection with the Galveston, Harrisburg and San AntoniO' 
Railroad, thus putting Galveston in direct communication with points here- 
tofore tributary to other markets. Rolling stock has been ordered to equip 
and operate the line so completed. 

Houston and Texas Western. — Gauge, 3 feet; rail, 30 lbs. In operation 
from Houston to Pattison, forty-one miles. OflScers: T. W. House, pres- 
ident; Peter Floeck, vice-president; J. G. Tracy, secretary ; J. W. Good- 
win, superintendent. General ofBces — Houston. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

Houston 41 

6 Westheimer 35 

12 Piney Point 29 

22 Habermacher 19 

30 Wimberly 11 

41 Pattison 

The Houston East and West Texas Railway. Officers. — Paul Bre- 
mond, president; Samuel S. Timpson, secretary. 

This enterprise, familiarly known as the Bremond road, is being pushed 
to the Trinity river, and will be completed to that point by December next. 
Forty miles have been finished, aud for that distance there are daily trains. 
Five additional miles are ready for the iron, which will be laid immediately. 
Mr. Bremond has purchased iron sufl3.cicnt to carry the road to the Trinity, 
and the right of way for nearly the whole distance has been cleared. There 
are nine mills in active operation upon this road as far as it has been built, 
which are turning out each week a vast amount of excellent lumber, and 
the revenue from this source alone is paying a large per cent, on the capital 
invested. The town of Cleveland, named for Judge Chas. Cleveland, of 
Galveston, will be reached before another month shall have passed, and a 
considerable business will spring up at that point as soon as trains can be 
run from it to Hou^^ton. The construction of the road is in every particular 
first-class, the work having been done by Messrs. Snelling & Harper uj) to 
the forty-mile point. Mr. Snelling now has control of the construction, 
Mr. Harper having died within the past few months. Recently Mr. Bre- 
mond has bonded the road for 87.000 per mile, at 7 pev cent, interest, and 
<he bond is considered a number one security. There can be no doubt that 



774 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

this enterprise is one of the most promising in the Southern States. Once 
across the Trinity river, a magnificent farming country will be reached, and 
along the whole line of that river to the town of Nacogdoches, the pine, 
walnut, white oak, hickory and other valuable timber trees cannot be sur- 
passed in this country. The Houston East and West Texas Kailway is going 
to be the means of developing a country now without railroad facilities, 
and the State of Texas would be better off if she had more Paul Bremouds 
within her limits. 
The principal office of the company is at Houston. 

Texas Transportation Cojipant. — This short road was built in 1876 to 
connect with the town of Clinton, where Mr. Morgan's steamers land, with 
Houston. It is seven and one-half miles long. The road is built of steel 
rails, tied with water-seasoned cypress and equipped in the best, most sub- 
stantial style ; receives other companies' cars at Houston, pulling them with 
their powerful engines to the wharf, immediately alongside Mr. Morgan's 
steamships, which receive and transport produce to all ports. 

Texas and New Orleans Railroad. — Ten miles of this road from Hous- 
ton eastward was built in 1859. In 1860 it was completed eighty miles to 
Beaumont, and in 1861 to Orange, 106 miles from Houston, and at the close 
of the war the road was suspended. In 1876 a re-organization of the com- 
pany took place, and soon afterward re-commenced business. 

Officers of the Boad.— John T. Terry, President; J. F. Crosby, Vice- 
President and General Manager; T. W. House, Treasurer; B. F. Merritt, 
Secretary; P. B. Watson, Auditor; C. A. Burton, Superintendent; W. II. 
Masters, General Freight and Passenger Agent; C. C. Barr, Chief En- 
gineer ; N. R. Olcott, General Laud Agent. 

Length of line in operation, Houston to Orange, 106 miles ; gauge 4 feet 
Sh inches; weight of rail per yard, 66 pounds. 
Miles. Stations. Miles. 

Houston 106 

12 Shelden 94 

20 Crosby 86 

35 Dayton 71 

40 Liberty 66 

53 Devers 53 

67 Sour Lake 39 

83 Beaumont 23 

93 Terry 13 

106 Orange 

International and Great Northern Railroaj) Company, May 1st, 1878. 

Line of Road. 

Miles. 

Houston to Longview, Texas 235 

Phelps (66 miles north of Houston) to Huntsville 8 

! Palestine (152 miles north of Houston) to Austin 181 

g I Troupe (198 miles north of Houston) to Mineola 45 

W [ Houston to Columbia 61-285 

Total length of all lines owned and operated 520 







rORMER MILITARY HEADQUARTERS, SAN ANTONIO. 



EAILROADS. 777 

Sidings and other tracks, 20 miles ; gauge of road, 4 feet 8^ inches ; rail, 
56 pounds. 

The Houston and Great Northern road was commenced in the city of 
Houston in 1870 ; reached the Trinity, 88 miles, in 1871, with a branch to 
Huntsville, 8 miles, in 1872. It reached Palestine, 152 miles, and in 1873 
was combined with the International Eailroad. 

HOUSTON DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

Houston 232 

5 Cross Timbers 226 

12 Prairie 220 

19 Westfleld 213 

23 Spring 209 

27 Hartley's 205 

28 Haltom's 204 

30 Egypt 201 

33 Parker 199 

34 Medley's 198 

36 Grand Lake 196 

38 Berings 184 

47 Willis 177 

55 Waverly 171 

66 Phelps 1 65 

71 Dodge 161 

79 Riverside 153 

86 Trinity 146 

95 Red Branch 137 

100 Lovelady 132 

113 Crockett 119 

120 Stark 112 

126 Grapeland 106 

138 Elkhart 93 

151 Palestine 81 

BRAZOS DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. Miles^ 

Austin 262 

11 Duval 250 

19 Round Rock 243 

22 Palm Valley.. 238 

27 Hutto 234 

36 Taylor 226 

48 Everett 213 

52 Watson 210 

61 Rockdale 200 

69 Milano 192 

81 Gause 181 

91 Hearne 1 70 

105 Englewood 156 



778 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

BRAZOS DIVISION. — CONTINUED 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

115 Lake 147 

125 Marques 136 

137 Jewett 125 

14G Buffalo 116 

154 Keechi 108 

164 Oakwoofls 98 

171 Douglass. 90 

180 Palestine 81 

RED RIVER DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

151 Palestine 81 

162 NeJies 69 

167 Price's 65 

168 Earl's 63 

178 o . . .Jacksonville 54 

184 Eeynolds. 48 

196 Troupe 36 

204 Jarvis 28 

210 Overton 22 

220 Kilgore ." 12 

227 Foots' 5 

232 Longview 

COLUMBIA. DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. 3Iiles. 

50 Houston 

44 Pierce Junction 6 

29 Areola 20 

22 Sandy Point 28 

18 China Grove 82 

13 Chenango 36 

8 Oyster Creek 41 

Columbia 50 

NORTHERN DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

o Troupe 44 

11 "WTiitehouse 33 

19 Tyler 25 

33 Lindale 11 

44 Mineola 

HUNTSVILLE BRANCH. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

riiolps 8 

8 Huutsville 



EAILROADS. 779 

The Directory. — Samuel Sloan, Moses Taylor, T. "W. Pearsall and John 
S. Barnes, New York Cilj^, New York; James A. Baker, Houston, Texas; 
R. S. Hayes, H. M. Hoxie, D. S. H, Smith and Ira H. Evans, Palestine, 
Texas. 

Officers. — Samuel Sloan, President; R. S. Hayes, Vice-President and 
Receiver; D. S. H. Smith, Treasurer; Ira H. Evans, Land Commissioner; 
George J. Pollock, Accountant; H. M. Hoxie, General Superintendent; 
Allen McCoy, General Freight Agent ; J. 11. Page, General Passenger and 
Fi'eight Agent; O. H. Dorance, Master of Transportation; T. K. McFar- 
land, General Baggage Agent; Jacob S. Wetmore, Assistant Treasurer and 
Transfer Agent, New York. 

Principal ofSces and address, Palestine, Texas; fiscal agency and transfer 
office, New Y^'ork. 

The International Railroad was chartered in 1870, to run diagonally 
across the State from northeast to the southwest. To this road the State 
promised a bonus of $10,000 per mile. It was commenced at Hearne, on the 
Central, and foi'ty-one miles built to Jewett, in 1871 ; in 1872 it was built to 
Overton, 109 miles; in 1873 it reached Longview, and formed a junction 
with the Texas Pacific. The track was also extended soutwest across the 
Brazos, fifteen miles. In 1874, it reached Rockdale, and Round Rock in 
July, 1876, and Austin, December, 1876. 

The State having failed to issue the bonds to the company on the portion 
of the road already built, and the Constitution having been changed so us to 
permit the giving of land to corporations, in 1875, the Legislature passed a 
bill, substituting twenty sections of land, per mile, instead of the $10,000 in 
bonds ; the entire property of the company to be exempt from taxation for 
twenty-five years. This compromise was accepted by the company. 

The Columbia division of this road was known, before the war, as the 
Sugar road. It was built from Houston to Pierce Junction in 1856; and 
extended to Columbia, in 1860. Haviug failed to pay the interest on the 
money loaned by the State from the school fund, it was sold out, and became 
the property of the H. & G. N. road, 

Texas Pacific Road. — This was formerly known as the Southern Pacific, 
and was sometimes called the Memphis «& El Paso road. Commenced at 
Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1858 ; reached Mai'shall, Texas, forty-two miles, 
in 1859, and Longview, in 1870 ; Dallas, in August, 1873 ; and Fort Worth, 
in Jiuy, 1876. In 1873, a section of the northern branch of this road was 
opened from Sherman to Brookston ; in March, 1875, it reached Paris, and 
Clarksville, in July, and Texarkana in August. 

Board of Directors — (Report for 1878.) — Thomas A. Scott, Pennsylvania; 
Frank S. Bond, Pennsylvania; John C. Brown, Tennessee; W, AV", Keefer, 
Pennsylvania ; II. H. Houston, Pennsylvania ; R. D. Barclay, Pennsylvania ; 
Marshall O. Roberts, New York; Henry G. Stebbins, New York; William 
Thaw, Pennsylvania; W. T. AValters, Maryland; Alfred Gaither, Oliio; 
W. C. Hall, Kentucky; W. S. McManus, Pennsylvania; T. L. Nesmith, 
California; W. M. Harrison, Texas. General Office, 275 South Fourth 
street, Philadelphia. 



780 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

President, Thomas A. Scott; vice presidents, Frank S. Bond, John C 
Brown; assistant to the president, James P. Scott; treasurer, George D. 
Krumbhaar ; secretary, Charles E. Satterlee. Transfer agency, 60 Exchange 
place, New York. E. B. Hart, transfer agent. 

The number of miles of road (main track) operated was the same at the 
commencement as at the close of the year, and is described as follows : 

Miles. 

From Shreveport to Fort Worth 219 69-lOa 

From Texarkana to Sherman , 155 12-100 

From Marshal to Texarkana Junction 69 6-100 

Total length of main ti-ack 443 86-100 

The average number of miles operated the previous year 414 75-100 

Which shows an increase over last year of.. 29 11-100 

A fraction over 7 per cent. 

At the commencement of the year the company had 36 94-100 miles of 
side tracks, and at the close of the year it had 39 44 100 miles, showing that 
2h miles of siding was added during the year. The total length of main 
tracks and sidings, May 31, 1878, was 483 30-100 miles. 

J. S. Noble, Superintendent Trans-Continental and Jefferson divisions, 
Texarkana, Texas. 

George E. Wright, General Baggage Agent, Mai'shall, Texas. 

General Offices, Marshall, Texas. 

Executive Office, 275 South Fourth street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

JEFFERSON AJ«D SOUTHERN DIVISION. 

Miles. stations. Miles. 

Texarkana 254 

6 Texarkana Junction 248 

16 Sulphur 238 

20 Alamo 234 

26 Lanark 228 

31 Atlanta 223 

39 Hoxie's 215 

44 Kildare 210 

49 Lodi ♦,205 

59 Jefferson 195 

65 Woodlawn 189 

-^4 Marshall ISO 

79 Abney"s 175 

83 Millwood 171 

88 Hallville 166 

94 Mason Springs 160 

97 Long\iew Junction 157 

98 Longview 156 

101 Willow Springs 153 

110 Gladewater 144 




COMAL, RIVER, NEAR NEW BRAUNFELS. 



RAILROADS. 783 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

116 Neal's 138 

121 Big Sandj^ 133 

123 Chilton • 131 

12G Hawkins 128 

134 Lake Fork 120 

143 Mineola Ill 

150 Silver Lake 104 

157 Grand Saline 97 

168 Edgewood 86 

174 Will's Point 80 

183 Elmo 71 

190. Terrell 64 

194 LawTence 60 

202 Forney « <- 52 

209 Mesquite 45 

215 Scyene Siding. 39 

221 H. & T. C. Crossing 33 

223 Dallas 32 

228 Eagle Ford 26 

234 Grand Prairie 20 

241 Ai-lington. 13 

248 Village Creek. 6 

254 Fort Worth 

TRANS-CONTINENTAl, DIVISION. 

Miles. stations. Miles. 

o Texarkana 154 

6 Texarkana Junction 148 

17 >Vlialey's 137 

22 New Boston 132 

34 DeKalb 120 

44 Douglas 110 

52 o Annona 102 

60 Clarksvllle 94 

67 Bagwell's 86 

73 Bennett's 81 

80 Blossom Prairie 74 

90 Paris 64 

98 Brookston 56 

111 Honey Grove 42 

121 .Dodd's 33 

127 Bonham 27 

138 Savoy 16 

146 Choctaw 8 

154 Sherman 

MARSHALL ^VND SHREVEPORT — SOUTHERN DIVISION. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

Shreveport 40 

4 Race Track 37 

42 



784 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Miles. Stations. Jlliles. 

5 Jewella 3G 

8 Beckville 32 

11 Flounioy s 29 

15 Greenwood 25 

21 Waskom 19 

24 Jonesville IG 

32 Scottsville 8 

40 Marshall 

Henderson and Overton. — Webster Flanagan, president; W. S. Moss, 
vice president; A. B. Collins, treasurer; B. S. Wathen, secretary and super- 
intendent. 

Line of road, Overton to Henderson, 15 miles. Sidings half a mile. 
Gauge 4 feet 8^ inches. Rail 56 pounds. 

Ttlek Tap {.\^arro'w-Gauge) . — James P. Douglas, pi-esident; W. J. 
Goodman, vice president; E. C. "Williams, treasurer; Charles T. Bonner, 
secretary. 

Line of road: Tyler to Ferguson, 21 miles; sidings and other tracks, one 
mile. Gauge, 3 feet. "Weight of rail in use, 30 pounds. 

Dallas and "Wichita. — W. H. Gaston, president; J. "W. Calder, vice 
president; George Shields, secretary. 

Line of road: Dallas to Louisville, 22^ miles; gauge of road, 4 feet 8^ 
inches. Rail, 56 pounds. Ten miles constructed within past year. Expen- 
ditures and earnings about $1,500 per month. Receiver appointed in June, 
and now in charge of the road. 

East Line Railway. — Wra. M. Harrison, president ; E. W. Taylor, vice 
president; "W. H. Cook, secretary; "W. B. Ward, superintendent; T. J. 
Rogers, auditor; J. P. Russell, general freight agent; S. D. Rainey, Jr., 
general ticket agent; B. H. Eppei-son, E. W. Taylor, W. B. A^^ard, L. A. 
Ellis, W. M. Harrison, J. P. Russell, J. H. Bemiss, S. D. Rainey, Jr.; T. J. 
Rogers, directors. 

This enterprise, begun and carried out by Jefferson men and capital, is a 
growing interest in east Texas. The road was commenced in June, 1876, 
first 20 miles completed December 1st, 1876. By September 1st, 1877, 13i 
additional miles were completed, making 33^ miles of road in operation on 
that date. By December 1st, 1877, 16i additional miles were completed, to 
Pittsburg, Camp county, making 50 miles oi road in operation on that date. 
At this writing the road is completed and in running order 10 miles further, 
making a grand total of 60 miles now in operation. 

Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande — (In progress) . — President, 
U. Lott; vice president, W. L. Rogers; secretary, J. B. Mitchell; treas- 
m'er, George F. Evans; assistant secretary and treasurer, Wm. A. Lott. 

This road is now open for business to Collins, Nueces county, 40 miles 
from Corpus Christi. Gauge of road, 3 feet. Railj, 30 pounds. 



EAILROADS. 785 

Rio Grande. — Line of road, Brownsville to Point Isabel, 22 miles, 
tjrauge, 4 ieetSh inches. Rail, 56 pounds. 

This road runs from Brownsville, on the Rio Grande river, to Point 
Isabel, where Mr. Morgan's ships connect with it. It is now in the hands 
of Mr. M. J. Gomila, receiver, by whom it is operated. No report of its 
operations has arrived. 

Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific. — Henry Sheppard, president and 
superintendent; M. D. Monserrat, secretary, treasurer and general agent. 
Principal office, Indianola, Texas. 

Line of road, Indianola to Cuero, 68.8 miles ; sidings and other tracks, 4 
miles ; gauge, four feet 8i inches. Rail, 56 pounds. 

The G. W. T. & P. was originally the San Antonio & Mexican Gulf road 
and was built fi-om Port Lavaca to Victoria, in 1857-1860. Totally de- 
stroyed during the war ; rebuilt after the war ; but not proving pi-ofltable, 
it was purchased by Mr, Charles Morgan ; the terminus taken from Lavaca 
to Indianola, and the road extended to Cuero, in 1874. 

Miles. Stations. Miles. 

70 Indianola 

58 Lavacca .*. 12 

45 Placedo 25 

30 Victoria 40 

15 Thomaston 55 

10 Burns 60 

« Cuero 70 

For the fiscal year ending August 31, J 877, there were issued land certifi- 
cates to the different railroads in Texas, as follows: 1218 certificates to 
International and Great Northern Railroad Company for 779,520 acres, none 
to State; 2991 certificates to Texas and Pacific Railroad Company for 
1,914,240 acres; 881 certificates to Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio 
Railroad Company for 563,840 acres; 536 certificates to East Line and Red 
River Railroad Company for 343,040 acres; 248 certificates to Galveston, B. 
and C. Narrow Gauge Railroad Company for 158,720 acres; 298 certificates 
to Tyler Tap Railroad Company for 190,720 acres ; 352 certificates to Texas 
and Western Narrow Gauge Railroad Company for 225,280 acres; 192 cer- 
tificates to Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Company for 122,880; 160 
certificates to Corpus Christi, San Diago and Rio Grande Railroad Company 
for 102,400 acres ; 240 certificates to Henderson and Overton Branch Rail- 
road Company for 153,600 acres ; 184 certificates to Dallas and Wichita Rail- 
road Company for 117,760 acres. The same number of certificates were 
issued to the school fund in each case. Makiiur in tlie aggregate 7300 cer- 
tificates with 4,672,000 acres to the raikoads, and 3,892,480 for the State. 



TELEGRAPHS AND TAXES. 



Telegraph Lines. — On the 24th of January, 1860, telegi'aphic communi- 
cation was established between Galveston and Houston, and the lines were 
gradually extended to the principal cities of the State. Tliere are two 
lines in Texas: the Western Union and the Military Line. In 1875, Con- 
gress made an appropriation to connect the military po^ts on the frontier 
by telegraph, and the lines were built during the year 1876. The Western 
Union has in operation about 2,000 miles and the Military Line probably 
1,500 miles. 

TOTAL AGGREGATE TAXABLE PROPERTY— 1846-77. 

Yttars Aggregate 

^^'*^"''' Taxable Property, 

1846 $34,391,175 

1847 37.5(i2.505 

1S48 * 43,812,537 

1849 46,241,689 

1850 51,814,615 

1851 69,739,581 

1852 80,754,094 

1853 99,155,114 

'l854 120,981,617 

1855 149,521 ,451 

1856 161,304,025 

1857 183,591.205 

1858 193.(;3G,S18 

1859 224 ,353,266 

1860 29 ^.315,659 

1861 256,784.482 

1864 , 358,101,886 

1SG5 

1SG6 122,749,123 

1867 170,005,545 

1868 144,260.244 

1869 149.655,386 

1870 170,473.778 

1871 222,504,073 

1872 207,920.526 

1873 , 223.410.920 

1874 241,8il,SGa 

1875 250,853,790 

1876 248 ,41 5 .850 

1877 , .318,985,765 

The following table exhibits the amount of pi'operty in each county, and 
the summary following describes the different kinds of property taxed : 




VIEW OF COMMERCE STREET, SAN ANTONIO. 



TAXABLE PROPERTY. 

ASSESSMENT FOR 1877-78. 



789 



COUNTY. 



Anderson . 
Angelina . 
Aransas . . 
Atascosa.. 
Austin. . . . 
Bandera. . 
Bastrop.. . 

Bee 

Bell 

Bexar .... 
Blanco . . . 
Bosque . . . 
Bowie . . . . 
Brazoria. . 
Brazos. . . . 

Brown 

Burleson. . 
Burnet . • . 
Caldwell.. 
Calhoun. . 
Callahan.. 
Cameron. . 
Camp .... 

Cass 

Chambers. 
Cherokee . 

Clay 

Coleman.. 
Collin . . . . 
Colorado . 
Co null. . . . 
Comanche 
Concho. . . 

Cook 

Coryell... 
Dallas.... 

Delta 

Denton.. . 
DeAVitt... 

Duval 

Eastland.. 

Ellis 

El Paso... 

Erath 

Falls 

Fannin . . . 
Fayette... 
Fort Bend 
Franklin.. 
Freestone. 

Frio 

Galveston. 
Gillesi>ie.. 
Goliad.... 
Gonzales. 
Grayson. . 
■Gregg.... 



Total 
Valuation. 



$2,466,535 

618.034 

637.4S1 

711,332 

2,508.091 

331,169 

2,634.015 

1,005,580 

3,387,970 

8,509,634 

706,729 

1,582.179 

1,445,318 

2,382,984 

2,302,534 

1,206,560 

1,588,097 

1,153,165 

1,707,646 

696,924 

125,400 

1,656.238 

676,776 

1,621,344 

410,045 

1,878,562 

822,766 

736.828 

5,576,170 

2.735,621 

1,272.660 

1,090,435 

84,569 

2,446,077 

1,809,246 

9,268,770 

694.444 

3,149.672 

2,058,974 

968.002 

461,714 

4,248,764 

421.436 

1,614,323 

2,815.086 

3,790,930 

4.797.853 

2.126.111 

536.695 

1,928.722 

554. 6S2 

22.913.359 

961 ,6:!0 

1.360,339 

2.9(;8.s(;i 
6.(;(;s.2:'.5 

1,125,219 



Ad Valorem 
Tax. 



$12,232 94 

3.091 30 
3,186 75 
3,540 67 

12,540 46 

1,655 84 

13.172 31 

5,027 68 

16,889 84 

42,548 05 

3,534 43 

7,910 18 

7,255 95 

11,915 27 

11.512 25 

6,082 78 

7,940 49 

5,776 24 

8,538 23 

3,465 72 

627 40 

8,281 25 

3,386 81 

8.092 10 
2.050 20 
9.392 80 
4.114 33 
3,088 56 

27,880 85 

13,678 71 

6,362 80 

5,455 21 

409 15 

12,230 38 

9,055 40 

46,343 85 

3,472 22 

15.74S 36 

10,294 99 

4.839 18 

2.308 57 

21,243 75 

2.107 23 

8,072 88 

14.075 40 

18.952 79 

23,985 81 

10.681 02 

2,663 48 

9,648 88 

2,773 38 

114,506 83 

4,808 15 

0,796 52 

41.810 94 

33.312 53 

5,627 09 



Poll Tax.- 



$5,982 
1,434 

490 
1,296 
5,032 

778 
5,300 

884 
5,734 
3.:!Ni 
1.232 
3,312 
2,376 
3.600 
5,044 
2,738 
3,264 
1,984 
2,786 

780 

394 
4,480 
1,568 
4,834 

768 
5,186 
1.052 
1,002 
8,250 
5.436 
1,772 
2,960 
14 
5,258 
4,176 
8,372 
2.004 
5,240 
3,348 

760 
1,104 
4,836 
1.322 
3,926 
5,614 
6.238 
7,828 
3,148 
1,542 
4,666 

422 
3,116 
1,664 
1,764 
4.616 
11.616 
2,500 



Total Tax. 



$18,314 94 

4.525 30 

3,676 75 

4,852 67 
17,602 46 

2,433 84 
18,472 31 

5,911 68 
22,623 84 
45.934 05 

4,766 43 
11 ,222 18 

9,631 95 
15,575 27 
16,55() 25 

8,770 78 
11,204 49 

7,760 24 
11,324 23 

4,245 72 

1,021 40 
12,761 25 

4,954 81 
12,926 10 

2,818 20 
14.558 80 

5,160 33 

4,690 56 
36,130 85 
19,114 71 

8,134 80 

8,415 21 

423 15 

17,488 38 

13,231 40 

54,715 85 

5,476 22 
20,988 36 
13,642 99 

5,599 18 

3,412 57 
26,079 75 

3.420 23 
11.998 88 
19,689 40 
25.190 79 
31,813 81 
13,829 02 

4,205 48 
14,314 88 

3.195 38 
117,682 83 

6,474 15 

8,560 52 
19,150 94 
44,958 53 

8,127 09 



790 



HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ASSESS^IENT FOR 1877-78— Contintted. 



COUNTY. 



Grimes 

Guadalupe. . . 

Hamilton 

Hardin 

Harris 

Harrison 

Hays 

Henderson. . . 

Hidalgo 

Hill 

Hood 

Hopkins 

Houston 

Hunt 

Jack 

Jackson 

Jasper 

Jetterson 

Johnson 

Karnes 

Kaufman 

Kendall 

Kerr 

Kimball 

Kinney 

Lamar 

Lampasas.. . . 

Lavaca 

Lee 

Leon 

Liberty 

Limestone - . . 
Live Oak . . . . 

Llano 

MeCulloch. . . 
McLennan . . . 
McMullen . . . 

Madison 

Marion 

Mason 

Matagorda . • . 
Maverick . . . . 

Medina 

Menard , 

Milam 

Montague.. . 
Montgomeiy. 

Morris 

Nacogdoches 

Navarro 

Xewton 

Xueces 

Orange 

Palo pinto... 

Panola 

Parker « 



Total 
Valuation. 



Ad Valorem 
Tax. 



$2,718,355 

2,488.716 

847,498 

321.431 

11,438.650 

3,062,287 

1,353,040 

1,212,439 

375,531 

2,583,419 

850,910 

1,989.704 

1.974,147 

2,171,571 

774,470 

876,030 

522,062 

954,393 

2,659,390 

1,009,000 

2,854,269 

497,826 

404,370 

211.291 

425,056 

4,730.723 

1,035,504 

2,474,785 

1,661,892 

1,025,733 

820.202 

2.297,762 

845.247 

546.351 

523,902 

5,529.817 

159,039 

716,062 

1,853.297 

'539.411 

1,270.025 

,469,635 

1,056,401 

,103,019 

2.438,906 

1.082.460 

1,302.303 

441.497 

1.237.368 

4.375.515 

334.869 

2.452,841 

526,845 

740,833 

1.269.890 

1,782.564 



$13,599 15 
12,443 15 

4.253 44 
1,607 06 

57,198 25 

15,316 09 

6,765 20 

6,002' 21 

1.877 84 

12,942 09 

4.254 55 
9,948 37 
9,876 66 

10,857 85 
3,867 95 
4,383 71 
2,610 31 
4.772 84 

13,293 76 
5.045 46 

14,274 46 
2,490 07 
2,021 85 
1,056 45 
1,131 75 

23,653 50 
5,177 68 

12,368 03 
8,309 56 
8,126 35 
4,101 01 

13,980 62 
4,229 34 
2,731 75 
2,613 41 

27,651 79 
789 19 
3,578 55 
9,269 51 
2,697 05 
6,350 88 
2,846 93 
5.282 00 
980 48 

12.194 48 
5.405 61 
6.511 96 
2.208 SG 

' 6,187 76 

21.877 72 
1,674 34 

12.264 19 
2.634 22 
3,554 16 
6,349 45 
8,954 83 



Poll Tax. 



Total Tax. 



$6,786 
2,874 
2,130 

500 
6,694 
6,688 
2,128 
2,930 

608 
5,402 
1,960 
4,366 
4,146 
5,692 
1,488 

880 
1,548 

924 
5,960 
1,014 
4,248 

906 

682 

348 

590 
9,440 
1,746 
4,008 
3,130 
4,560 
1.472 
4,760 

506 
1,274 

496 
8,572 

258 
1,920 
3,326 

778 
1.486 

690 
1,412 

150 
5,712 
3.292 
2,634 
1,394 
3,950 
6,902 
1,206 
1,239 

298 
1,670 
4,146 
3,698 



f20,385 15. 

15,317 15 
6,383 44 
2,107 06. 

63,887 25 

22,004 09 
8,893 20 
8,992 21 
2,485 84 

18,344 09 
6,214 55 

14,314 37 

14,022 6& 

16,549 85 
5.355 95 
5,263 71 
4,158 31 
5,698 84 

19,253 76. 
6.059 46 

18,522 4& 
3,396 07 
2.703 85 
1,404 45 
2.721 75 

33,098 50 
6,923 68 

16.466 03 

11,439 56 

12.686 35 
5.573 01 

18,740 62 
4,785 34 
4,005 75 
3,109 41 

36,223 79 
1,056 19 
5,498 55 

12.595 51 
3.475 05 
7.836 88 
3.042 93 
6,694 00' 
1.142 48 

17,906 48 
8,697 61 
9,145 96 
3,602 85 

10,137 76 

28,779 72 
2.880 34 

13,512 19 
3,452 22 
5,224 16 

10,495 45 

12,652 88. 



TAXABLE PROPERTY. 

ASSESSMENT FOR 1877-78— Contintjed. 



791 



County. 



Polk 

Presidio 

Pecas 

Rains 

Red River 

Refugio 

Robertson. . .. 

Rockwall 

Rusk 

Sabine 

Somervell 

San Augustine 
San Patricio . . 

San Saba 

Shackelford . . . 

Shelby 

San Jacinto . . . 

Smith 

Starr 

Stephens 

Tarrant 

Titus 

Taylor 

Tom Green . • . 

Travis 

Triuitjr 

Tyler 

T Jpshur 

Uvalde 

Van Zandt 

Victoria 

Walker 

Wliarton 

Waller 

Washington . . 

Webb 

Williamson . . • 

Wilson 

Wise 

Wood 

Young 

Zapata 



Total 
Valuation. 



$717,354 

747,881 

375,900 

3!J9,572 

2,303,320 

1,141,994 

3,644,630 

709,476 

2,313,523 

328,079 

230,125 

481.260 

864,812 

1,029,512 

493,776 

782,475 

666,859 

3,552,188 

1,026,511 

586,348 

4,515,815 

709,616 

43,209 

754,787 

10,739,100 

715,592 

666,437 

1,185,093 

828,725 

1,676,053 

2,306,262 

1,464,699 

876,384 

1,733,948 

4,067,355 

1,091,658 

3,755,950 

1,049,827 

1,525,075 

1,615,818 

714,607 

386,391 



Ad Valorem 


Tax. 


$3,588 27 


3,739 40 


1,879 48 


1.997 69 


11,516 59 


5,727 74 


18,223 15 


3,547 38 


11,567 62 


1,640 53 


1,154 70 


2,406 34 


4,324 06 


5,150 63 


2,468 58 


3,912 38 


3,336 04 


17,759 10 


512 56 


2,931 75 


22,577 08 


3,849 54 


216 04 


3,773 88 


53,698 08 


3,575 65 


3,334 02 


5,930 46 


4,142 26 


8,382 93 


11,531 31 


7,323 39 


4,387 40 


8,684 25 


23,351 76 


5,458 29 


18,786 35 


4,249 01 


7,629 92 


8,079 10 


3,573 81 


2,907 25 



PoU Tax. 



$2,086 
- 564 

720 
1,056 
5,326 

548 
8,328 

868 
6,266 
1,392 

780 
1,518 

384 
1,814 

702 
2,892 
2,144 
6,492 
1,210 

722 
7,348 
1,934 

126 

492 

10,260 

1,482 

1,848 

2,934 

802 
2,932 
2.242 
3,462 
1,452 
3,324 
8,556 
1,564 
4,400 
1.778 
3,940 
3,222 
1,240 

400 



Total Tax. 



$5,674 27 
4,303 40 
2,599 48 
3.053 69 

16,842 59 
6,275 74 

26,551 15 
4.415 38 

17,833 62 
3,032 53 
1,934 70 
3,924 34 
4,708 06 
6,964 63 
3,070 58 
6,804 38 
5,480 04 

24.251 10 
6,342 56 
3,653 75 

29,925 08 

5,783 54 

342 04 

4,265 88 

68,958 08 
5,057 65 
5,182 02 
8,864 46 
4,944 26 

11,314 93 

13.773 31 

10.785 39 
5,839 40 

12,008 25 

31,907 76 
7.022 29 

23,186 35 
7,027 01 

11,569 92 

11,301 19 
4,813 81 
2,367 25 



792 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

SUM^IARY OF ASSESSMENTS. 

RENDERED PROPERTY. 

Description of Property. Valued at 

Number of acres, 61,445,03!) $125,621,392 

Town lots 49,419,067 

Number miles of railroad, 1,763 667-1000 14,959.643 

Number miles of telegraph, 2,231 51-1000 145,860 

Number acres, land certificates, 890,255 211 ,572 

Number of steamboats and sailing vessels, etc., 356 184,072 

Number of carriages, buggies, etc., 131,075 4,919,446 

Manufacturers' tools, implements, etc • 3,955,874 

Materials and manufactured article? 307,802 

Number of horses and mules, 966,977 20,242,896 

Number of cattle, 3.263,373 18,048,668 

Number of jacks and jennets, 5,299 178,816 

Number of sheep, 2,227,839 2,829,404 

Number of goats, 223,417 » 161,134 

Number of hogs, 1,286,933 2,257,002 

Goods, wares and merchandise 16,427,407 

Money on hand 8,507,337 

Miscellaneous property - . . 24,441,356 

Total value $292,818,743 

State ad valorem tax, >< per cent $1,404,244 68 

State poll, 230,069, at $2 each 460,138 GO 

Total State tax $1,924,382 68 

Average value of land per acre $2 04^ 

TJNRENDERED PROPERTY. 

Description of Property. Valued at 

Number of acres, 15,035,411 $19,462,180 

Town lots 2,789,878 

Number miles of railroad, 18 81,000 

Number miles of telegraph, 12 5,000 

Number acres, land certificates, 19,392 2,840 

Number of steamboats, sailing vessels, etc., 217 239,000 

Number of carriages, buggies, etc., 845 42,597 

Manufacturers' tools, implements, etc 59,290 

Materials and manufactured articles 525 

Number of horses and mules, 18.584 284,581 

Numl)er of cattle, 149,983 883,342 

Number of jacks and jennets, 72 3.985 

Number of sheep, 65.533 78.601 

Number of goats, 5.201 3.550 

Number of hogs, 5,976 11,558 

Goods, wares and merchandise x,333,910 

Monej'^ on hand 317,176 

MisceUaneous property 518,009 

Total value $26,117,022 

State ad valorem tax,>^ of 1 per cent $130,583 78 

Number polls, 2,335, $2 each 4,670 00 

Total, $135,253 78 

Average value of land per acre $1 29 

Total amount of property rendered and unrendered $318,985,765 

State ad valorem tax, >^ of 1 per cent $1,594,828 46 

Poll tax 464.808 00 

Total $2,059,636 46 




MASONIC HEADQUARTERS OF STATE, HOUSTON. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE. 



PREAMBLE. 



Humbly invoking the blessing of Almighty God, the people of the State 
of Texas do ordain and establish this Constitution. 

ARTICLE I. 

BILL OF RIGHTS. 

That the general, great, and essential principals of liberty and free gov- 
ernment may be recognized and established, we declare : 

Section 1. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the 
Constitution of the United States ; and the maintenance of our free insti- 
tutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the 
right of local self-government unimpaired to all the States. g 

Sec, 2. All political power is inhei-ent in the people, and all free govern- 
ments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The 
faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a repub- 
lican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at 
all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government 
in such manner as they may think expedient. 

Sec, 3. All free men, when they form a social compact, have equal rights 
and no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive separate public emolu- 
ments, or privileges, but in consideration of public services. 

Sec. 4. No i-eligious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any 
office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from 
holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowl- 
edges the existence of a Supreme Being. 

Sec. 5. No person shall be disqualified to give evidence in any of the 
courts of this State on account of his religious opinions, or for the want of 
any religious belief, but all oaths or affirmations shall be administered in 
the mode most binding u[)on the conscience, and shall be taken subject to 
the pains and penalties of i)erjury. 

Sec. G. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty 
God according to the dictates of their own consciences. No man shall be 
compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain 
any ministry, against his consent. No human authority ought, in any case 
whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters 
of religion, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any relio-ious 
society or mode of worship. But it shall be the duty of the legislature to 
pass such laws as may be necessary to protect equally every reliii^ious 
denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode oi" public wor- 
ship. 



796 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 7. No money shall be appropriated or drawn from the treasury for 
the benefit of any sect, or religious society, theological or religious semi' 
nary ; nor shall property belonging to the State be appropriated for any such 
purposes. 

Sec. 8. Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write, or publish his 
opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; 
and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the 
press. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the con/ 
duct of officers or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is 
proper for pubJic information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. 
And in all indictments for libels the jury shall have the right to determine 
the law and the facts, under the direction of the coui-t, as in other cases. 

Sec. 9. The people shall be secure, in their persons, houses, papers, and 
possessions, from all unreasonable seizures or searches, and no warrant to 
search any place, or to seize any person or thing, shall issue without 
describing them as near as may be, nor without probable cause, supported 
by oath or affirmation. 

Sec. 10. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a speedy 
public trial by an impartial jury. He shall have the right to demand the 
nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy thereof. 
He shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself He shall have 
the right of being heard by himself or counsel, or both; shall be confronted 
with the witnesses against him, and shall have compulsory process for 
obtaining witnesses in his favor. And no person shall be held to answer 
for a criminal offence, unless on indictment of a Grand Jury, except in 
cases in which the punishment is by fine or imprisonment otherwise than in 
the penitentiary, in cases of impeachment, and in cases arising in the army 
or navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public 
danger. 

Sec. 11. All prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for 
capital offences, when the i^roof is evident; but this provision shall not be 
so construed as to prevent bail after indictment found, upon examination 
of the evidence in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 12 The writ of habeas corpus is a writ of right, and shall never be 
suspended. The Legislature shall enact laws to render the remedy speedy 
and effectual. 

Sec. 13. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. All courts shall be open, and 
every person, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, persoij, or reputa- 
tion shall have remedy by due course of law. 

Sec. 14. No person, for tlie same offence, shall be twice put in jeopardy 
of life or liberty ; nor shall a person be again put upon trial for the same 
offence after a verdict of not guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction. 

Sec. 15. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. The Legisla- 
ture shall pass such laws as may be needed to regulate the same, and ta 
maintain its purity and efficiency. 



CONSTITUTION. i^l 

Sec. 16. No bill of attaindei', ex post facto law, retroactive law. or auy 
law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be made. 

Sec. 17. No pei'son's property shall be taken, damaged or destroyed for 
or applied to public use without adequate compensation being made, unless 
by the consent of such person; and when taken, except for the use of the 
State, such compensation shall be first made, or secured by a deposit of 
money ; and no irrevocable or uncontrollable grant of special pri^dlegcs or 
immunities shall be made; but all privileges and franchises granted by the 
Legislatui'e, or created under its authority, shall be subject to the control 
thereof. 

Sec. 18. No person shall ever be imprisoned for debt. 

Sec. 19. No citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, liberty, prop- 
erty, privileges, or immunities, or in any manner disfranchised, except by 
the due course of the law of the land. 

Sec. 20. No person shall be outlawed; nor shall any person be trans- 
ported out of the State for any offence committed within the same. 

Sec. 21. No conviction shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of 
estate ; and the estates of those who destroy their own lives shall descend 
or vest as in case of natural death. 

Sec. 22. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war 
against it, o/ adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort; and no 
person shall be convicted of treason except on the testimony of two wit- 
nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

Sec. 23. Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the 
lawful defence of himself or the State; but the Legislature shall have 
power by law to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to pi'event 
crime. 

Sec. 24. The military shall at all times be subordinate to the civil au- 
thority. 

Sec. 25. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in the house of 
any citizen without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a 
manner prescribed by law. 

Sec. 26. Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free 
government, and shall never be allowed ; nor shall the law of primogeni- 
ture or entailments ever be in force in this State. 

Sec. 27. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to 
assemble together for their common good, and apply to those invested with 
the power of government for redress of grievance or other purposes, by 
petition, address, or remonstrance. 

Sec. 28. No power of suspending laws in this State shall be exercised 
except by the Legislature. 

Sec. 29. To guard against transgressionsof the higher powers herein dele- 
gated, we declare that everything to this ' ' liill of Eights " is excepted out 



798 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

of the general powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate, 
and all laws contrary thereto, or to the following provisions, shall be void. 

AKTICLE II. 

THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT. 

Section 1. The powers of the government of the State of Texas shall be 
divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confided to 
a separate body of magistracy, to wit: those which are legislative to one, 
those which are executive to another, and those which are judicial to another ; 
and no person, or collection of persons, being of one of these departments^ 
shall exercise any power prooerly attached to either of the others, except iu 
the instances herein expressly permitted. 

ARTICLE III. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate 
and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled " The Legis- 
lature of the State of Texas." 

Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of thii'ty-one members, and shall never 
be increased above this number. The House of Representatives shall consist 
of ninety-three members until the first apportionment after the adoption of 
this Constitution, when, or at any apportionment thereafter, the number of 
Representatives may be increased by the Legislature, upon the ratio of not 
more than one Representative for every fifteen thousand inhabitants ; ^^ro- 
vided, the number of Representatives shall never exceed one hundred and 
fifty. 

Sec. 3. The Senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term 
of four years ; but a new Senate shall be chosen after every apportionment, 
and the Senators elected after each apportionment shall be divided by lot 
into two classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated 
at the expiration of the first two years, and those of the second class at the 
expiration of four years, so that one-half of the Senators shall be chosen 
biennially thereafter. 

Sec. 4. The members of the House of Representatives shall be chosen by 
the qualified electors, and their term of office shall be two years from the 
day of their election. 

Sec. 5. The Legislature shall meet every two years, at such time as may 
be provided by law, and at other times, when convened by the Governor. 

Sec. 6. No person shall be a Senator, unless he be a citizen of the United 
States, and at the time of his election a qualified elector of this State, and 
shall have been a resident of this State five years next preceding his election, 
and the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be 
chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-six years. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be a Representative, unless he be a citizen of the 
United States, and at the time of his election a qualified elector of this State, 




POST OFFICE, GAIiVESTON. 



CONSTITUTION". 801 

and shall have been a resident of this State two years next preceding his 
election, the last year thereof a resident of the district for which he shall be 
chosen, and shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. 

Sec. 8. Each House shall be the judge of the qualifications and election of 
its own members ; but contested elections shall be determined in such manner 
as shall be provided by law. 

Sec. 9. The Senate shall, at the beginning and close of each session, and 
at such other times as may be necessary, elect one of its members President 
pro tempore, who shall perform tlie duties of the Lieutenant-Governor in 
any case of absence or disability of that officer, and whenever the said office 
of Lieutenant-Governor shall be vacant. The House of Representatives 
shall, when it first assembles, organize temporarily, and thereupon proceed 
to the election of a Speaker from its own members ; and each House shall 
choose its other officers. 

Sec. 10. Two-thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum to do busi- 
ness, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the 
attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as 
each House may provide. 

Sec. 11. Each House may determine the rules of its own proceedings 
punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds^ 
expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence. 

Sec. 12. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish 
the same ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any 
question shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on 
the journals. 

Sec. 13. AVhen vacancies occur in either House, the Governor, or the 
person exercising the power of the Governor, shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies ; and should the Governor fail to issue a writ of elec- 
tion to fill any such vacancy within twenty days after it occurs, the return- 
ing officer of the district in which such vacancy may have happened, shall 
be authorized to order an election for that purpose. 

Sec. 14. Senators and Representatives shall, except in cases of treason, 
felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session 
of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing 
one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the i)lace at 
which the Legislature is convened. 

Sec. 15. Each House may punish, by imprisonment, during its sessions, 
any person not a member, for disrespectful or disorderly conduct in its 
presence, or for obstructing any of its proceedings; provided, such impris- 
onment shall not at any one time, exceed forty-eight hours. 

Sec. 16. The sessions of each House shall be open, except the Senate when 
in executive session. 

Sec. 17. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn 
for more than three days, nor to any other place than that where the Legis- 
lature may be sitting. 



802 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 18. No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which 
he may be elected, be eligible to any civil office of profit under this State 
which shall have been created or the emoluments of which may have been 
increased during such term; no member of either House shall, during the 
term for which he is elected, be eligible to any office or place, the appointment 
to which may be made, in whole or in part, by either brancli of the Legis- 
lature ; and no member of either House sliall vote for any other member 
for any office whatever, which may be tilled by a vote of the Legislature, 
except in such cases as are in this Constitution provided. K^or shall any 
member of the Legislature be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any 
contract with the State, or any county thereof, authorized by any law passed 
during the term for which he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 19. No judge of any court. Secretary of State, Attorney-General, 
clerk o any court of record, or any i^erson holding a lucrative office under 
the United States, or this State, or any foreign government, shall, during 
the term for which he is elected or appointed, be eligible to the Legislature, 

Sec. 20. No person who at any time may have been a collector of taxes, 
or who may have been otherwise entrusted with public money, shall be 
eligible to the Legislature, or to any office of profit or trust under the State 
government, until he shall have obtained a discharge for the amount of 
such collections, or for all public moneys with wliich he may have been en- 
trusted. 

Sec. 21. No member shall be questioned in any other place for words 
spoken in debate in either House, 

Sec. 22. A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure 
or bill, proposed, or pending before the Legislature, shall disclose the fact 
to the House of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon. 

Sec. 23. If any Senator or Eepresentative remove his residence from the 
district or county for which he was elected, his office shall thereby become 
vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in section 13 of this arti- 
cle. 

Sec. 24. The members of the Legislature shall receive from the public 
Treasury such compensation for their services as may, from time to time, 
be provided by law, not exceeding five dollars per day for the first sixty 
days of each session ; and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for 
the remainder of the session ; except the first session held under this Con- 
stitution, when they may receive not exceeding four dollars per day for the 
first ninety days, and after that not exceeding two dollars per day for the 
remainder of the session. In addition to the per diem the members of each 
House shall be entitled to mileage in going to and returning from the seat 
of government, which mileage shall not exceed five dollars for every twenty- 
five miles, the distance to be computed by the nearest and most direct route 
of travel by land, regardless of railways and water routes; and the Comp- 
troller of the State shall prepare and preserve a table of distances to each 
county seat now or hereafter to be estalished, and by such table the mileage 
of each member shall be paid; but no member shall be entitled to mileage 



CONSTITUTION. 803 

for any extra session that may be called within one day after the adjourn- 
ment of a regular or called session. 

Sec. 25. The State shall be divided into senatorial districts of contiguous 
territory, according to the number of qualified electors, as nearly as may be, 
and each district shall be entitled to elect one Senator, and no single county 
shall be entitled to more than one Senator. 

Sec. 26. The members of the House of Representatives shall be appor- 
tioned among the several counties, according to the number of population 
of the State, as ascertained by the most recent United States census, by the 
number of members of which the House is composed : Provided, that when- 
ever a single county has sufficient population to be entitled to a Representa- 
tive, such county shall be formed into a separate representative district, and 
when two or more counties are required to make up the ratio of represen. 
tation, such counties shall be contiguous to each other; and when any one 
county has more than sufficient population to be entitled to one or more 
Representatives, such Representative or Representatives shall be appor- 
tioned to such county, and for any surplus of population it may be joined 
in a representative district with any other contiguous county or counties. 

Sec. 27. Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be general 
thx-oughout the State, and shall be regulated by law. 

Sec. 28. The Legislature shall, at its tirst session after the publication of 
each United States decennial census, apportion the State into senatorial and 
representative districts, agreeably to the provisions of section 25 and 26 of 
this article ; and until the next decennial census, when the first apportion- 
ment shall be made by the Legislature, the State shall be, and it is hereby; 
divided into senatorial and representative districts, as provided by an ordin- 
ance of the Convention on that subject. 

PROCEEDINGS. 

Sec. 29. The enacting clause of all laws shall be, "Be it enacted by the 
Legislatui'e of the State of Texas." 

Sec 30. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so 
amended in its passage through either House as to change its original pur- 
pose. 

Sec 31. Bills may originate in either House, and when passed by such 
House, may be amended, altered, or rejected by the other. 

Sec. 32. No bill shall have the force of law until it has been read on three 
several days in each House, and free discussion allowed thereon; but in 
cases of imperative public necessity (which necessity shall be stated in a 
lireamble, or in the body of the bill), four-fifths of the House in which the 
bill may be pending may suspend this rule, the yeas and nays being taken 
on the question of suspension, and entered upon the journals. 

Sec 33. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, but the Senate may amend or reject them as other bill^. 

Sec 34. After a bill has been considered and defeated by either House of 



804 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

the Legislature, no bill containing the same substance shall be passed into a 
law during the same session. After a resolution has been acted on and 
defeated, no resolution containing the same substance shall be considei-ed at 
the same session. 

Sec. 35. No bill (except general appropriation bills, which may embrace 
the various subjects and accounts for and on account of wliich moneys are 
appropriated) shall contain more than one subject, which shall be expressed 
ill its title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not 
be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof 
as shall not be expressed. 

Sec. 36. No law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title ; but 
in such case the act revived or the section or sections amended shall be re- 
enacted and published at length. 

Sec. 37. No bill shall be considei'ed, unless it has been first referred to a 
committee and reported thereon ; and no bill shall be passed which has not 
been presented and referred to and reported from a committee at least 
three days before the final adjournment of the Legislature.' 

Sec. 38. The presiding officer of each House shall, in the presence of the 
House over which he presides, sign all bills and joint resolutions passed by 
the Legislature, after their titles have been publicly read before signing; 
and the fact of signing shall be entered on the journals. 

Sec. 39. No law passed by the Legislature, except the general appropria- 
tion act, shall take effect or go into force until ninety days after the adjourn- 
ment of the session at which it was enacted, unless in case of an emergency, 
which emei'gency must be expressed in a preamble or in the body of the act, 
the Legislature shall, by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to 
each House, otherwise direct ; said vote to be taken by yeas and nays, and 
entered upon the journals. 

Sec. 40. When the Legislature shall be convened in special session, there 
shall be no legislation upon subjects other than those designated in the pro- 
clamation of the Governor calling such session, or presented to them by the 
Governor; and no such session shall be of longer duration than thirty 
days. 

Sec. 41. In all elections by the Senate and House of Representatives, 
jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce, except in the election 
of their officers. 

REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS. 

Sec. 42. The Legislature shall pass such laws as may be necessary to 
carry into effect provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec. 43. The first session of the Legislature under this Constitutiow shall 
provide for revising, digesting, and publishing the laws, civil and criminal ; 
and a like revision, digest, and publication may be made every ten years 
thereafter; provided, that in the adoption of and giving effect to any such 
digest or revision, the Legislature shall not be limited by Sections 35 and 
36 of this article. 




VIEW OF CORK FIELD IN BRAZOS BOTTOM, ROBERTSON COUNTY. 
Taken MavISth, 1878, ou I. & G. N. R. R. 



CONSTITUTION. 807 

Sec. 44. The Legislature shall provide by law for the compensation of all 
officers, servants, agents, and public contractors, not provided for in this 
Constitution, but shall not grant extra compensation to any officer, agent, 
servant, or public contractor, after such public service shall lun-e been 
performed or contract entered into for the performance of the same; nor 
grant by appropriation or otherwise, any amount of money out of the treas- 
ury of the State, to any individual, on a claim, real or pretended, when the 
same shall not have been provided for by pre-existing law •, nor employ any 
one in the name of the State unless authorized by pre-existing law. 

Sec. 45. The power to change the venue in civil and criminal cases shall 
be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such manner as shall be provided 
by law ; and the Legislature shall pass laws for that purpose. 

Sec. 46. The Legislature shall, at its first session after the adoption of 
this Constitution, enact effective vagrant laws. 

Sec. 47. The Legislature shall pass laws prohibiting the establishment 
of lotteries and gift enterprises, in this State, as well as the sale of tickets 
in lotteries, gift enterprises, or other evasions involving the lottery princi- 
ple, established or existing in other States. 

Sec. 48. The Legislature shall not have the right to levy taxes or impose 
burdens upon the people, except to raise revenue sufficient for the econom- 
teal administration of the government, in which may be included the follow- 
ing purposes : 

The payment of all interest upon the bonded debt of the State ; 

The erection and repairs of public buildings ; 

The benefit of the sinking fund, which shall not be more than two per 
centum of the public debt ; and for the payment of the present floating debt 
of the State, including matured bonds for the payment of which the sinking 
fund is inadequate ; 

The support of public schools, in which shall be included colleges and 
universities established by the State ; and the maintenance and support of 
the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas ; 

The payment of the cost of assessing and collecting the revenue ; and the 
payment of all officers, agents, and employees of the State government, and 
all incidental expenses connected therewith; 

The support of the Blind Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and the 
Insane Asylum, the State Cemetery, and the public grounds of the State; 

The enforcement of quarantine regulations on the coast of Texas ; 

The protection of the frontier. 

Sec. 49. No debt shall be created by or on behalf of the State, except to 
supply casual deficiencies of the revenue, repel invasion, suppress insurrec- 
tion, defend the State in war, or pay existing debt; and the debt created to 
supply deficiencies in the revenue shall never exceed in the aggregate at any 
one time two hundred thousand dollars. 

Sec. 50. The Legislature shall have no power to give or to lend, or to 
authorize the giving or lending, of the credit of the State in aid of, or to any 
person, association, or corporation, whether municipal or other; or to 
43 



808 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

pledge the credit of the State in any manner whatsoever, for the payment 
of the liabilities, present or prospective, of any individual, association of 
individuals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever. 

Sec. 51. The Legislature shall have no power to make any grant, or au- 
thorize the making of any grant, of public money to any individual, asso- 
ciation of individuals, municipal or other corporation whatsoever; provided, 
that this shall not be so construed as to prevent the grant of aid in case of 
public calamity. 

Sec. 52. The Legislature shall have no power to authorize any county, 
city, town, or other political corporation, or subdivision of the State, to 
lend its credit or to grant public mone\' or thing of value, in aid of or to anj' 
individual, association, or corporation whatsoever; or to become a stock- 
holder in such corporation, association, or company. 

Sec. 53. The Legislature shall have no power to grant, or to authorize 
any county or municipal authority to grant, any extra compensation, fee, or 
allowance to a public officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after service has 
been rendered, or a contract has been entered into, and performed in whole 
or in part ; nor pav, nor authorize the payment of, any claim created against 
any county or municipality of the State, under any agreement or contract, 
made without authority of law. 

Sec. 54. The Legislature shall have no power to release or alienate any 
lien held by the State upon any railroad, or in anywise change the tenor or 
meaning, or pass any act explanatory thereof; but the same shall be enforced 
in accordance with the original terms upon which it was acquired. 

Sec. 55. The Legislature shall have no power to release or extinguish, or 
to authorize the releasing or extinguishing, in whole or in part, the indebt- 
edness, liability," or obligation of any incorporation or individual to this 
State, or to any county, or other municipal corporation therein. 

Sec. 56. The Legislature shall not, except as otherwise provided in this 
Constitution, pass any local or special law, authorizing: 

The creation, extension, or impairing of liens; 

Regulating the affairs of counties, cities, towns, wards, or school districts ; 

Changing the name of persons or places; changing the venue in civil or 
criminal cases ; 

Authorizing the laying out, opening', altering, or maintaining of roads, 
highways, streets, or alleys ; 

Relating to ferries and bridges, or incorporating ferry or bridge companies, 
except for the erection of bridges crossing streams which form boundaries 
between this and any other State ; 

Vacating roads, town plats, streets, or alleys ; 

Relating to cemeteries, graveyards, or public grounds not of the State; 

Authorizing the adoption or legitimation of children; 

Locating or changing county seats; 

Incorporating cities, towns, or villages, or changing their charters ; 

For the opening and conducting of elections, or fixing or changing the 
places of voting; 



CONSTITUTION. 809 

Oranting divorces ; 

Creating offices, or prescribing tlie powers and duties of officers, in 
counties, cities, towns, election or school districts ; 

Changing the law of descent or succession ; 

Regulating the practice or jurisdiction of, or changing the rules of evidence 
in any judicial proceeding or enquiry before courts, justices of tlie ppace, 
sheriffs, commissioners, arbitrators, or other tribunals, or providing or 
changing methods for the collection of debts, or the enforcing of judgments, 
or prescribing the effect of judicial sales of veal estate; 

Regulating the fees, or extending the powers and duties of aldermen, 
justices of the peace, magistrates, or constables; 

Regulating the management of public schools, the building or repairing 
of school-houses, and the raising of money for such purposes ; 

Fixing the rate of interest ; 

Affecting the estates of minors, or persons under disability; 

Remitting fines, penalties, and forfeitures, and refunding moneys legally 
paid into the treasury; 

Exempting property from taxation ; 

Regulating labor, trade, mining, and manufacturing ; 

Declaring any named person of age; 

Extending the time for the assessment or collection of taxes, or otherwise 
relieving any assessor or collector of taxes from the due performance of his 
official duties, or his securities from liability; 

Giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds; 

Summoning or impanelling grand or petit juries; 

For limitation of civil or criminal actions; 

For incorporating railroads or other work of internal improvements; 

And in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, no 
local or special law shall be enacted ; provided, that nothing herein contained 
shall be construed to pi'ohibit the Legislature from passing special laws for 
the preservation of the game and fish of this State in certain localities. 

Sec. 57. No local or special law shall be passed, unless notice of the inten- 
tion to apply therefor shall have been published in the locality where the 
matter or thing to be affected may be situated, which notice shall state the 
substance of the contemplated law, and shall be published at least thirty 
days prior to the introduction into the Legislature of such bill, and in the 
manner to be provided by law. The evidence of such notice having been 
published shall be exhibited in the Legislature before such act shall be 
passed. 

Six. 58. The Legislature shall hold its sessions at the city of Austin, 
which is hereby declared to be the Seat of Government. 

ARTICLE IV. 

EXECUXrV'E DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The Executive Department of the State shall consist of a 
Governor, who shall be the chief Executive Officer of the State, a Lieutenant- 



810 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Treasurer, 
Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Attorney-General. 

Sec. 2. All the above officers of the Executive Department (except Sec- 
retary of State) shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State at the 
time and places of election for members of the Legislature. 

Sec. 3. The returns of every election for said Executive Officers, until 
otherwise provided by law, shall be made out, sealed up, and transmitted 
by the returning officers prescribed by law, to the seat of government, 
directed to the Secretary of State, who shall deliver the same to the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, as soon as the Speaker shall be chosen ; and 
the said Speaker shall, during the first week of the session of the Legisla- 
ture, open and publish them in the presence of both Houses of the Legisla- 
ture. The person, voted for at said election, having the highest number of 
votes for each of said offices respectively, and being constitutionally eligible, 
shall be declared by the Speaker, under sanction of the Legislature, to be 
elected to said office. But if two or more persons shall have the highest 
and an equal number of votes for either of said offices, one of them shall be 
immediately chosen to such office by joint vote of both Houses of the Leg- 
islature. Contested elections for either of said offices shall be determined 
by both Houses of the Legislature in joint session. 

Sec. 4. The Governor shall be installed on the first Tuesday after the or- 
ganization of the Legislature, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and shall 
hold his office for the term of two years, or until his successor shall be duly 
installed. He shall be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United 
States, and shall have resided in this State at least five years immediately 
preceding his election. 

Sec. 5. He shall, at stated times, receive as compensation for his services 
an annual salary of four thousand dollars, and no more, and shall have the 
use and occupation of the Governor's mansion, fixtures, and furniture. 

Sec. 6. During the time he holds the office of Governor he shall not hold 
any other office, civil, military, or corporate ; nor shall he practice any pro. 
fession, and receive compensation, reward, fee, or the promise thereof, for 
the same; nor receive anj^ salary, reward, or compensation, or the promise 
thereof, from any person or corporation, for any service rendered or per- 
formed during the time he is Governor, or to be thereafter rendered or per- 
formed. 

Sec. 7. He shall be commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, 
except when they are called into actual service of the United States. He 
shall have power to call forth the militia to execute the laws of the State, to 
suppress insurrections, repel invasions, and protect the frontier from hostile 
incursions by Indians or other predatory bands. 

Sec. 8. The Governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the 
Legislature at the seat of government, or at a different place in case that 
should be in possession of the public enemy, or in case of the prevalence of 
disease thereat. His proclamation therefor shall state specifically the pur- 
pose for which the Legislature is convened. 




TREMONT STREET, GALVESTON. 



CONSTITUTION. 813 

Skc. 9. The Governor shall, at the commencement of each session of the 
Legislature, and at the close of his term of office, give to the Legislature 
information, by message, of the condition of the State ; and he shall recom- 
mend to the Legislature such measures as he may deem expedient. He 
shall account to the Legislature for all public moneys received and paid out 
by him from any fund subject to his order, with vouchers ; and shall accom- 
pany his message with a statement of the same. And at the commencement 
of each regular session he shall present estimates of the amount of mouey 
required to be raised by taxation for all purposes. 

Sec. 10. He shall cause the laws to be faithfully executed; and shall con- 
duct, in person, or in such manner as shall be prescribed by law, all inter- 
course and business of the State with other States and with the United 

States. 

Sec. 11. In all criminal cases, except treason and impeachment, he shall 
have power, after conviction, to grant reprieves, commutations of punish- 
ment, and pardons ; and, under such rules as the Legislature may prescribe, 
he shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures. With the advice and 
consent of the Senate, he may grant pardons in case of treason, and to this 
end he may respite a sentence therefor, until the close of the succeeding 
session of the Legislatui-e : 2^^'ovidecl, that in all cases of remissions of tines 
and forfeitures, or grants of reprieve, commutation of punishment, or par- 
don, he shall tile in the office of the Secretary of State his reasons therefor. 

Sec. 12. All vacancies in State or district offices, except members of the 
Legislature, shall be filled, unless otherwise provided by law, by appoint- 
ment of the Governor, which appointment, if made during its session, shall 
be with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the Senate present. If 
made during the recess of the Senate, the said appointee, or some other per- 
son to fill such vacancy, shall be nominated to the Senate during the first 
ten days of its session. If rejected, said office shall immediately become 
vacant, and the Governor shall, without delay, make further nominations, 
until a further confirmation takes place. But should there be no confirma- 
tion during the session of the Senate, the Governor shall not thereafter 
appoint any person to fill such vacancy who has been rejected by the Senate ; 
but may appoint some other person to fill the vacancy until the next session 
of the Senate, or until the regular election to said office, should it sooner 
occur. Appointments to vacancies in offices elective by the people shall 
only continue until the first general election thereafter. 

Sec. 13. During the session of the Legislature the Governor shall reside 
where its sessions are held, and at all other times at the seat of govermnent, 
except when, by act of the Legislature, he may be required or authorized 
to reside elsewhere. 

Sec. 14. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of the Legisla- 
ture shall be presented to the Governor for his approval. If he approve, he 
shall sign it; but if ho disapprove it, he shall return it, with his objections, 
to the House in which it originated, which House shall enter the olijcctious 
at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such recou- 



814 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

sideratioii, two-thirds of tlie members present agree to pass the bill, it shall 
be sent, with the objections, to the other Ilonse, by which likewise it shall 
be reconsidered ; and, if approved by two thirds of the members of that 
House, it shall become a law ; but in such cases the votes of both Houses 
sliall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting- 
for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House re- 
spectively If any bill shall not bo returned by the Governor with his 
objections within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been pre- 
sented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed 
it, unless the Legislature, by its adjournment, prevent its return ; in which 
case it shall be a law, unless he shall file the same, with his objections, in 
the oflSce of the Secretary of State, and give notice thereof by public proc- 
lamation within twenty days after such adjournment. If any bill presented 
to the Governor contains several items of appropriation, he may object to 
one or more of such items, and approve the other portion of the bill. In 
such case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing it, a statement 
of the items to which he objects, and no item so objected to shall take effect. 
If the Leijislature'be in session he shall transmit to the House in which the 
bill originated a copy of such statement, and the item objected to shall be 
separately considered. If, on reconsideration, one or more of such items 
be approved by two-thirds of the members present of each House, the same 
shall be part of the law, notwithstanding the objections of the Governor. 
If anv such bill, containing several items of appropriation, not having been 
pi'esenied to the Governor ten days (Sundays excepted) prior to adjourn- 
ment, be in the hands of the Governor at the time of adjournment, he shall 
have twenty days from such adjournment within which to file objections 
to a7iy items thereof and make proclamation of the same, and such item 
or items shall uot take effect 

Sec. 15. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of both 
Houses of the Legislature may be necessary, except on questions of adjourn- 
ment, shall be presented to the Governor, and, before it shall take effect, 
shall be appi-oved by him ; or, being disapproved, shall be repassed by both 
Houses; and all the rules, provisions, and limitations shall apply thereto as 
prescribed in the last preceding section in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 1G. There shall also be a Lieutenant-Govei'uor, who shall be chosen 
at every election for Governor by the same electors, in the same manner, 
continue in office the same time, and possess the same qualifications. The 
electors shall distinguish for whom they vote as Governor and for whom as 
Lieutenant-Governor. The Lieutenant-Governor shall by virtue of his office 
be President of the Senate, and shall have, when in Committee of the Whole, 
a right to debate and vote on all questions ; and wheu the Senate is equally 
divided, to give the casting vote. In case of the death, resignation, removal 
from oflice, inability, or refusal of the Governor to serve, or of his impeach- 
ment or absence from the State, the Lieutenant-Governor shall exercise the 
powers and authority appertaining to the office of Governor until another 
be chosen at the periodical election, and be duly qualified; or until the 
Governor impeached, absent, or disabled, shall be acquitted, return, or his 
disabilitv be removed. 



CONSTITUTION. 815 

Sec. 17. If, dnring the vacancy in the office of Governor, the Lieutenant- 
Governor should die, resign, refuse to serve, or be removed from office, or 
be unable to serve, or if lie shall be impeached or absent from the State 
the president of the Senate, for the time being, shall, in the like manner, 
administer the government until he shall be superseded by a Governor or 
Lieutenant-Governor. The Lieutenant-Governor shall, while he acts as 
president of the Senate, receive for his services the same compensation and 
mileage AVliich shall be allowed to the members of the Senate, and no more ; 
and during the time he administers the Government, as Governor, he shall 
receive in like manner the same compensation which the Governor would 
have received had he been employed iu the duties of his office, and no more. 
The president, for the time being, of the Senate, shall, during the time he 
administers the government, receive in like manner the same compensation 
which the Governor would have received had he been employed in the 
duties of his office. 

Sec. 18. The Lieutenant-Governor or president of the Senate succeeding 
to tl'ie office of Governor shall, during the entire term to which he may 
succeed, be under all the restrictions and inhibitions imposed in this Consti- 
tution on the Governor. 

Sec. 19. There shall be a Seal of the State, which shall be kept by the 
Secretary of State, and used by him officially under the direction of the 
Governor. The Seal of the State shall be a star of five i^ointSj encircled by 
olive and live-oak branches, and the words, " The State of Texas." 

Sec. 20. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority of the 
State of Texas, sealed with the State seal, signed by the Governor, and at- 
tested by the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 21. There shall be a Secretary of State, who shall be appointed by 
the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who 
shall continue in office during the term of service of the Governor. He 
shall authenticate the publication of the laws, and keep a fair register of 
all official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and shall, when required, 
lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and vouchers relrtive thereto, before 
the Legislature, or either House thereof, and shall perform such other duties 
as may be required of him by law. He shall receive for his services au 
annual salary of two thousand dollars, and no more. 

Seo. 22. The Attorney-General shall hold his office for two years and 
until his successor is duly qualified. He shall repi*esent the State in all suits 
and pleas in the Supreme Court of the State in which tlie State may be a 
party, and shall especially enquire into the charter rights of all private cor- 
porations, and from time to time, in the name of the State, take such action 
in the courts as may be proper and necessary to prevent any private cor- 
poration from exercising any power or demanding or collecting any species 
of taxes, tolls, freight, or wharfage, not authorized by law. He shall, when- 
ever sufficient cause exists, seek a judicial forfeiture of such charters, un- 
less otherwise expressly directed by law, and give legal advice in writing to 
the Governor and other executive officers, when requested by them, and 
ixjrform such other duties as may be required by law. He shall reside at 



816 HISTOEY or TEXAS. 

the seat of government daring his continuance in office. He shall receive 
for his services an annual salary of two thousand dollars, and no more, 
besides such fees as may be prescribed by law; provided, that the fees 
which he may I'eceive shall not amount to more than two thousand dollars 
annually. 

Sec. 23. The Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Treasurer, and the 
Connnissioner of the General Land Office shall each hold office for the term 
of two years, and until his successor is qualified ; receive an annual salary 
of two thousand and five hundred dollars, and no more ; reside at the cap- 
ital of the State during his continuance in office ; and perform such duties as 
are or may be required of him by law. They and the Secretary of State 
shall not receive to their own use any fees, costs, or perquisites of office. 
All fees that may be payable by law for any service performed by any officer 
specified in this section, or in liis office, shall be paid, when received, into 
the State Treasury. 

Sec. 24. An account shall be kept by the officers of the executive depart- 
ment, and by all officers and managers of State institutions, of all monej-s 
and choses in action received and disbursed or otherwise disposed of by 
them, sevex'allv, from all sources, and for every service performed; and a 
semi-annual report thereof shall be made to the Governor under oath. The 
Governor maj', at any time, require information in writing from any and all 
of said officers or managers, upon any subject relating to the duties, condi- 
tion, management, and expenses of their respective offices and institutions, 
which information shall be required by the Governor under oath, and the 
Governor may also inspect their books, accounts, vouchers, and public funds ; 
and any officer or manager who, at any time, shall wilfully n^ake a false 
report or give false information, shall be guilty of perjury, and so adjudged 
and punished accordingly, and removed from office. 

Sec. 25. The Legislature shall pass efficient laws facilitating the investi- 
gation of breaches of trust and duty by all custodians of public funds, and 
jiroviding for their suspension from office on reasonable cause shown, and 
for the appointment of temporary incumbents of their offices during such 
suspension. 

Sec. 26. The Governor, by and with the advice and consent of tAVO-thirds 
of the Senate, shall appoint a convenient number of notai'ies public for 
each county, who shall perform such duties as now are or may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE V. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

, Section 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in one Su- 
preme Court, in a Court of Appeals, in District Courts, in County Courts, in 
Commissioner's Courts, in Courts of Justices of the Peace, and in such 
other courts as may be established by law. The Legislature may establish 
Criminal District Courts, with such jurisdiction as it may prescribe, but no 
such court shall be established unless the district includes a city containing at 
least thirty thousand inhabitants, as ascertained by the census of the United 




THE STATE INSANE ASYLUM. AUSTIN. 



CONSTITUTION. 819 

States or other official census ; j^rovided, such town or city shall support 
said Criminal District Courts when established. The Criminal District 
Court of Galveston and Harris counties shall continue with the district, 
jurisdiction, and organization now existing by law, until otherwise pro- 
vided by law. 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and two Asso- 
ciate Justices, any two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the concur- 
ren^,e of two judges shall be necessary to the decision of a case. No person 
shall be eligible to the office of Chief Justice or Associate Justice of the 
Supreme Court unless he be at the time of his election a citizen of the United 
States and of this State, and unless he shall have attained the age of thirty 
yeai'S, and shall have been a practising lawyer or a judge of a court in this 
State, or such lawyer and judge together, at least seven years. Said Chief 
Justice and Associate Justices shall be elected by the qualified voters of the 
State at a general election, shall hold their offices for six years, and shall 
each receive an annual salary of not more than three thousand five hundred 
and fifty dollars. In case of a vacancy in the office of Chief Justice or Asso- 
ciate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Governor shall fill the vacancy until 
the uext general election for State officers, and at such general election the 
vacancy for the unexpired term shall be filled by election by the qualified 
voters of the State. 

Sec. 3. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which 
shall be co-extensive with the limits of the State ; but shall only extend to 
civil cases of which the District Courts have original or appellate jurisdic- 
tion. Appeals may be allowed for interlocutory judgments of the Dis- 
trict Courts, in such cases and under such regulations as may be provided 
by law. The Supreme Court and the Judges thereof shall have power to 
issue, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law, the writ of 
mandamus, and all other writs necessary to enforce the jurisdiction of said 
court. The Supreme Court shall have power, upon affidavit or otherwise, 
as by court may be thought proper, to ascertain such matters of fact as may 
be necessary to the proper exercise of its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court 
shall sit for the transaction of business from the first Monday in October 
until the last Saturday of June of every year, at the seat of government, 
and at not more than two other places in the State. 

Sec. 4. The Supreme Court shall appoint a clerk for each place at which 
it may sit, and each of said clerks shall give bond in such manner as is now 
or may hereafter be required by law ; shall hold his office for four years, 
and sliall be subject to removal by said court for good cause entered of 
record on the minutes of said court. 

Sec. 5. The Court of Appeals shall consist of three judges, any two of 
whom may constitute a quorum, and a concurrence of two judges shall be 
necessary to a decision of said court. They shall be elected by the qualified 
voters of the State at a general election. They shall be citizens of the 
United States and of this State ; shall have arrived at the age of tiiirty years 
at the lime of election ; each shall have been a practising lawyer, or a judge 
of a court in this State, or such lawyer and judge together, for at least 



S20 illSTOKY OF TEXAS. 

seven years. Said judges shall hold their offices for a term of six years, and 
each of tliem shall receive an annual salary of three tliousand five hundred 
and fifty dollars, which shall not be increased or diminished during their 
term of office. 

Sec. 6. The Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction co-exten- 
sive Avitli the limits of the State in all criminal cases, of whatever grade, 
and in all civil cases, unless hereafter otherwise provided by law, of which 
the County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction. In civil cases its 
opinions shall not be published unless the publication of such opinions be 
required by law. The Court of Appeals and the judges thereof shah have 
power to issue the writ of habeas corpus; and under such regulations as 
may be prescribed by law, issue such writs as may be necessary to enforce 
its own jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals shall have power, upon affida- 
vits, or otherwise, as by the court may be thought proper, to ascertain such 
matters of fact as may be necessary to the exercise of its jurisdiction. The 
Court of Appeals shall sit for the transaction of business from the first Mon- 
day of October until the last Saturday of June of every year, at the capital, 
and at not more than two other places in the State, at which the Supreme 
Court shall hold its sessions. The court shall appoint a clerk for each place 
at which it may sit, and each of said clerks shall give bond in such manner 
as is now or may hereafter be required by law ; shall hold his office for 
four years, and shall be subject to removal by the said court for good cause, 
entertd of record on the minutes of said court. 

Sec, 7, The State shall be divided into twenty-six judicial districts, 
which may be increased or diminished by the Legislature. For each district 
there shall be elected, by the qualified voters thereof, at general election 
for members of the Legislature, a judge, who shall be at least twentj^-five 
years of age, shall be a citizen of the United States, shall have been a prac- 
tising attorney or a judge of a court in this State for the period of four 
years, and shall have resided in the district in which he is elected for two 
years next before his election; shall reside in his district during his term of 
office ; shall hold his office for the term of four j-ears ; shall receive an 
annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars, which shall not be increased 
or diminished during his term of service ; and shall hold the regular terms 
of court at one place in each county in the district twice in each year, in 
such manner as may be prescribed by law. The Legislature shall have 
power by general act to authorize the holding of special terms, when nec- 
essary, and to provide for holding more than two terms of the court in any 
county, for the dispatch of business ; and shall provide for the holding of 
District Courts when the judge theieof is absent, or is from any cause dis- 
abled or disqualified from presiding. 

Sec. S. The District Court shall have original jurisdiction in criminal 
cases of the grade of felony ; of all suits in behalf of the State to recover 
penalties, forfeitures, and escheats; of all cases of divorce; in cases of 
misdemeanors involving official misconduct; of all suits to recover damages 
for slander or defamation of character; of all suits for the trial of title to 
laud, and for the enforcement of liens thereon ; of all suits for trial of right 



CONSTITUTION. 821 

to propei'ty levied on by virtue of any writ of execution, sequestration, or 
attachment when the property levied on shall be equal to or exceed in 
value five hundred dollars; and of all suits, complaints, or pleas whatever^ 
without regard to any distinction between law and equity, when the matter 
in controversy shall be valued at, or amount to five hundred dollars, exclu- 
sive of interest; and the said courts and the judges thereof shall have 
power to issue writs of habeas corpus in felony cases, mandamus, injunction,. 
certiorari, and all writs necessary to enforce their jurisdiction. The District 
Courts shall have appellate jurisdiction and general control in pi-obate 
matters over the County Court established in each county for appointing 
guardians, granting letters testamentary and of administration, for settling 
the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, and for the trans- 
action of business appertaining to estates; and original jurisdiction and 
general control over executors, administrators, guardians, and minors, 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Legislature. All cases 
now pending in the Supreme Court, of which the Court of Appeals has 
appellate jurisdiction under the provisions of this Article, shall, as soon as 
practicable after the establishment of said Court of Appeals, be certified, 
and the records ti'ansmitted to the Court of Appeals, and shall be decided 
by such Court of Appeals as if the same had been originally appealed to 
such court. 

Sec. 9. There shall be a clerk for the District Court of each county, who 
shall be elected by the qualified voters for the State and county officers, 
and who shall hold his office for two years, subject to removal by informa- 
tion, or by indictment of a grand jury, and conviction by a petit jury. In 
case of vacancy the judge of the District Court shall have the power to ap- 
point a clerk, who shall hold until the office can be filled by election. 

Sec. 10. In the trial of all causes in the District Courts, the plaintiff or 
defendant shall, upon application made in open court, have the right of trial 
by jury; but no jury shall be impai.c'led in any civil case unless demanded 
by a party to the case, and a jury fee be paid by the party demanding a jury, 
for such sum, and with such exceptions as may be jirescribed by the Legis- 
lature. 

Sec. 11. No judge shall sit in any case wherein he may be interested, or 
where either of the parties may be connected with him by affinity or con- 
sanguinity, within such degree as may be prescribed by law, or where he 
shall have been counsel in the case. When the Supreme Court, or tiie Ap- 
pellate Court, or any two of the members of either, shall be thus disquali- 
fied to hear and determine any ease or cases in said court, the same shall be 
certified to the Governor of the State, who shall immediately commission 
the requisite number of persons learned in the law, for the trial and deter- 
mination of said cause or causes. When a judge of the District Court is 
disqualified by any of tliG causes above stated, the parties may, by consent, 
appoint a pi-oper person to try said case; or upon their failing to do so, a 
competent person may be appointed to try the same in the couiU v where it 
is pending, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. And the District 
Judges may exchange districts, or hold courts for each other, wheu they 



822 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

may deem it expedient, and shall do so when directed by law. The dis- 
qualification of judges of inferior tribunals shall be remedied, and vacan- 
cies in their offices shall be filled, as prescribed by law. 

Sec. 12. All judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District 
Courts shall by virtue of their offices, be conservators of the peace through- 
out the State. The style of all writs and process shall be " The State of 
Texas." All pi'osccutions shall be carried on in the name and by the au- 
thority of " The State of Texas," and conclude " against the peace and 
dignity of the State." 

Sec. 13. Grand and petit juries in the District Courts shall be composed 
of twelve men ; but nine members of a grand jury shall be a quorum to 
transact business and present bills. In trials of civil cases, and in trials of 
criminal cases below the grade of felony, in the District Courts, nine mem- 
bers of the jury, concurring, may render a verdict, but when the verdict 
shall be rendered by less than the whole number, it shall be signed by every 
member of the jury concurring in it. When, pending the trial of any case, 
one or more jurors not exceeding three, may die, or be disabled from sitting, 
the remainder of the jury shall have the power to render the verdict: pro- 
vided, that the Legislature may change or modify the rule authorizing less 
than the whole number of the jury to render a verdict. 

Sec 14. The Judicial Districts in this State and the time of holding the 
courts therein are fixed by ordinance forming part of this Constitution, 
until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. 15. There shall be established in each county in this State a County 
(/ourt, which shall be a coui't of record; and there shall be elected in each 
county, by the qualified voters, a County Judge, who shall be well informed 
in the law of the State; shall be a conservator of the peace, and shall hold 
bis office for two years, and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. 
He shall receive as a compensation for L... services such fees and perquisites 
as may be jirescribed by law. 

Sec. 16. The County Court shall have original jurisdiction in all misde- 
meanors, of which exclusive original jurisdiction is not given to the Justice's 
Court, as the same are now or may be hereafter prescribed by law, and 
when the fine to be imposed shall exceed two hundred dollars; and thej^ 
shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil cases when the matter 
in controversy shall exceed in value tAVo hundred dollars, and not exceed 
five hundred dollars, exclusive of interest; and concurrent jurisdiction with 
the Districts Courts, when the matter in controversy shall exceed five hun- 
dred and not exceed one thousand dollars, exclusive of interest ; but shall 
not have jurisdiction of suits for the recovery of land. They shall have ajj- 
pellate jurisdiction in cases, civil and criminal, of which Justice's Courts 
have original jurisdiction, but of such civil cases only when the judgment 
of the court ai)pcalcd from shall exceed twenty dollars, exclusive of costs, 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. In all appeals from 
Justice^s Courts, there shall be a trial de novo in the County Court, and 
when the judgment rendered or fine imposed by the County Court shall not 




EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PALESTINE. 



CONSTITUTION. 825 

exceed one hundred dollars such trial shall bo final ; but if the judgment 
rendered or fine imposed shall exceed one hundred dollars, as well as in all 
cases, civil and criminal, of which the County Court has exclusive or concur- 
rent original jurisdiction, an appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeals, 
under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. The County Courts 
shall have the general jurisdiction of a Probate Court. They shall jirobate 
wills, apjwint guardians of minors, idiots, lunatics, person non compos 
menh's, and common drunkards, grant letters testamentary and of admin- 
istration, settle accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians, trans- 
act all business appertaining to the estates of deceased persons, minors, 
idiots, lunatics, persons nan comjws mentis, and common drunkards, in- 
cluding the settlement, partition, and distribution of estates of deceased 
persons, and to apprentice minors, as provided by law. And the County 
Courts, or judges thereof, shall have power to issue writs of mandamus, 
injunction, and all other writs necessary to the enforcement of the jurisdic- 
tion of said courts; and to issue writs of habeas corpus in cases where the 
offence charged is within the jurisdiction of the County Court, or any other 
court or tribunal inferior to said court. The County Court shall not have 
criminal jurisdiction in any county whei*e there is a Criminal District Court, 
unless expressly conferred by law ; and in such counties appeals from Jus- 
tice's Courts and other inferior courts and tribunals, in criminal cases, shall 
be to the Criminal District Courts, under such regulations as may be pre- 
scribed by law, and in all such cases an appeal shall lie from such District 
Courts to the Court of Appeals. Any case pending in the County Court, 
which the County Judge may be disqualified to try, shall be transferred to 
the District Court of the same county for trial ; and where there exists any 
cause of disqualifying the County Judge for the trial of a cause of which 
the County Court has jurisdiction, the District Court of such county shall 
have original jurisdiction of such cause. 

Sec. 17. The County Court shall hold a term for civil business at least 
once in every two months, and shall dispose of probate business, cither in 
term-time or vacation, as maybe provided bylaw; and said court shall 
hold a term for criminal business once every mouth, as may be pi'ovided by 
law. Prosecutions may be commenced in said court by information filed by 
the County Attorney, or by affidavit, as may by provided by law. Grand 
juries impanelled in the District Courts shall inquire into misdemeanors, 
and all indictments therefor returned to the District Courts shall forthwith 
be certified to the County Courts, or other inferior courts having jurisdic- 
tion to try them, for trial ; and if such indictment bo quaslied in the county 
or other inferior court, the person charged shall not be discharged if there 
is probable cause of guilt, but may be held by such court or magistrate to 
answer an information or affidavit. A jury in the County Court shall con- 
sist of six men ; but no jury shall be impanelled to try a civil case, unless 
demanded by one of the parties, who shall pay such jury fee therefor, in 
advance, as may be prescribed by law, unless he makes affidavit that he is 
unable to pay the same. 

Sec. 18. Each organized county in the State, now or hereafter existing, 



826 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

shall be divided from time to time, for the convenience of the people, into 
precincts, not less than fonr and not more than eight. The present County 
Courts shall make the first division. Subsequent divisions shall be made by 
the Commissioners' Court, provided for by tliis Constitution. In each such 
precinct there shall be elected, at each biennial election, one Justice of the 
Peace and one Constable, each of whom shall hold his office for two years, 
and until his successor shall be elected and qualified: 2')rovicled, that in any 
precinct in which there may be a city of eiglit thousand or more inhabitants, 
there shall be elected two Justices of the Peace. Each county shall in like 
manner be divided into four commissioners' precincts, in each of which there 
shall be elected, by the qualified voters thereof, one County Commissioner, 
who shall hold his office for two years, and until his successor shall be 
elected and qualified. The County Commissioners so chosen, with the 
County Judge, as presiding officer, shall compose the Count}' Commission- 
ers' Court, which shall exercise such jjowers and jurisdiction over all 
county business as is conferred by this Constitution and the laws of this 
State, or as may be hereafter prescribed. 

Sec. 19. Justices of the Peace shall have jurisdiction in criminal matters 
of all cases where the penalty or fine to be imposed by law may not be more 
than for two hundred dollars, and in civil mattei'S of all cases where the 
amount in controversy is two hundred dollars or less, exclusive of interest, 
of which exclusive original jurisdiction is*uot given to the District or 
County Courts; and such other jurisdiction, criminal and civil, as may be 
provided by law, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law ; and 
appeals to the County Courts shall be allowed iu all cases decided in Jus- 
tice's Courts where the judgment is for more than twenty dollars exclusive 
of costs, and iu all criminal cases, imder such regulations as may b^ pre- 
scribed bylaw. And the Justices of the Peace shall be ex-q^cto notaries 
public ; and they shall hold their courts at such times and places as may be 
provided by law. 

Sec. 20. There shall be elected for each county, by the qualified voters, a 
County Clerk, who shall hold his office for two years, who shall be Clerk of 
the County and Commissioners' Courts and Recorder of the county, whose 
duties, perquisites, and fees of office shall be prescribed bv the Legislature, 
and a vacancy in whose office shall be filled by the Commissioners' Court, 
until the next general election for county and State officers; i^rovided, that 
iu counties having a population of less than eight thousand persons there 
may be an election of a single clerk, who shall perform the duties of District 
and County Clerk. 

Sec. 21. A County Attorney, for counties in which there is not a I'esideut 
Criminal District Attorney, shall be elected by the qualified voters of each 
county, who shall be commissioned by the Governor, and hold his office ^cv 
the term of two years. In case of vacancy, the Commisioners' Court of 
the county shall have power to appoint a Count}'' Attornej' until the next 
general election. The County Attorneys shall represent the State iu all 
cases in the District and inferior courts in their I'espective counties ; but if 
any county shall be included in a district iu which there shall be a District 



CONSTITUTION. 827 

Attorney, the respective duties of District Attorneys and County Attorneys 
shall in such counties be regulated by the Legislature. Tlie Legislature 
may provide for the election of District Attorneys in such districts as may 
be deemed necessary, and make provision for tlie compensation of District 
Attorneys and County Attorneys ; i^'i'ovided, District Attorneys shall receive 
an annual salary of five hundred dollars, to be paid by the State, and such 
fees, commissions, and perquisites as may be provided by law. County At- 
torneys shall receive as compensation only such fees, commissions, and 
perquisites as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 22. The Legislature shall have power, by local or general law, to 
increase, diminish, or change the civil and criminal jurisdiction of County 
Courts ; and in cases of any such change of jurisdiction the Legislature 
shall also conform the jurisdiction of the other courts to such change. 

Sec. 23. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of each county a 
Sheriff, who shall hold his office for the term of two years, whose duties, 
and perquisites, and fees of office, shall be iirescribed by the Legislature, 
and vacancies in whose office shall be filled by the Commissioners' Court 
until the next general election for county or State officers. 

Sec. 24. County Judges, County Attorneys, Clerks of the District and 
County Courts, Justices of the Peace, Constables, and other county officers, 
may be removed by the Judges of the District Courts for incompetency, 
official misconduct, habitual drunkenness, or other causes defined by law, 
upon the cause therefor being set forth in writing, and the finding of its 
truth by a jury. 

Sec. 25. The Srpreme Court shall have power to make rules and regu- 
lations for the government of said court, and the other courts of the State, 
to regulate proceedings and expedite the dispatch of business therein. 

Sec. 26. The State shall have no right of appeal in criminal cases. 

Sec. 27. The Legislature shall, at its first session, provide for the transfer 
of all business, civil and criminal, pending in District Coui'ts, over which 
jurisdiction is given by this Constitution to the County Courts, or other 
inferior courts, to such County or inferior courts, and for the trial or dis- 
position of all such causes by such County or other inferior courts. 

Sec. 28. Vacancies in the office of judges in the Supreme Court, of the 
Court of Appeals, and District Court, shall be filled by the Governor until 
the next succeeding general election ; and vacancies in the office of County 
Judge, and Justices of the Peace, shall be filled by the Commissioners' 
Court, until the next general election for such offices. 

ARTICLE VI. 

SUFFRAGE. 

Section 1. The following classes of persons shall not be allowed to vote 
in this State, to wit: 
First. — Persons under twenty-one years of age. 



828 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Second. — Idiots and lunatics. 

Third. — All paupers supported by anj' county. 

Fourth. — All persons convicted of any felony, subject to such exceptions 
as the Legislature may make. 

Fifth. — All soldiers, marines, and seamen employed in the service of the 
army or navy of the United States. 

Sec. 2. Every male person subject to none of the foregoing disqualifica- 
tions, Avho shall have attained the age of twe)ity-one years, and who shall 
be a citizen of the United States, and who shall have resided in this State 
one year next preceding an election, and the last six months within the dis- 
trict or county in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector ; 
and every male person of foreign birth, subject to none of the foregoing 
disqualifications, who, at any time before an election, shall have declared 
his intention to become a citizen of the United States in accordance with the 
Federal Naturalization Laws, and shall have resided in this State one j'ear 
next preceding such election, and the last six months in the county in which 
be offei'S to vote, shall also be deemed a qualified elector; and all electors 
shall vote in the election precinct of their residence ; provided, that electors 
living in any unorganized county may vote at any election jpreciuct in the 
county to which such county is attached for judicial purposes. 

Si:c. 3. All qualified electors of the State, as herein described, who shall 
have resided for six months immediately preceding an election within the 
limits of any city or corporate town, shall have the right to vote for Mayor 
and all other elective officers; but in all elections to determine expenditure 
of money or assumption of debt only those shall be qualified to vote who 
pay taxes on property in said city or incorporated town ; provided, that no 
poll tax for the payment of debts thus incurred shall be levied upon the 
persons debarred from voting in relation thereto. 

Sec. 4. In all elections by the people the vote shall be by ballot, and the 
Legislature shall provide for the numbering of tickets, and make such other 
regulations as may be necessary to detect and punish fraud, and preserve 
the purity of the ballot box; but no law shall ever be enacted requiring a 
registration of the voters of this State. 

Sec. 5, Voters shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the 
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in 
going to and returning therefrom. 

ARTICLE VII. 

education. — THE PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS. 

Section 1. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the pres- 
ervation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the 
Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the 
support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools. 

Sec. 2. All funds, lands, and other property heretofore set apart and ap- 
projjriated for the support ol public schools ; ail tlie alternate sections of 




SPANISH FANDANGO. 



CONSTITUTION. 831 

laud reserved by the State out of grants heretofore made, or that may here- 
after be made to railroads, or other corporations, of any nature whatsoever: 
one-half of the public domain of the State; and all sums of money that may 
come to the State from the sale of any ijortion of the same, shall constitute 
a j)erpetual school fund. 

Sec. 3. There shall be set apart annually not more than one-fourth of the 
general revenue of the State, and a poll tax of one dollar on all male inhab- 
itants in this State between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years, for the 
benefit of the public free schools. 

Skc. 4. The land herein set apart to the public free school fund shall be 
sold under such I'egulations, at such times, and on such terms as may be 
prescribed by law ; and the Legislature shall not have power to grant any 
relief to the i)urchasers thereof. The Comptroller shall invest the proceeds 
of such sales, and of those heretofore made, as may be directed by the 
Board of Education herein jirovided for, in the bonds of this State, if the 
same can be obtained, otherwise in United States bonds; and the United 
States bonds now belonging to said fund shall likewise be invested in State 
bonds, if the same can be obtained on terms advantageous to the school 
fund. 

Sec. 0. The principal of all bonds and other funds, and the principal 
arising from the sale of the lands hereinbefore set apart for said school 
fund, shall be the permanent school fund; and all the interest derivable 
therefrom, and the taxes herein authorized and levied, shall be the available 
school fund, which shall be applied annually to the support of the public 
free schools. And no law shall ever be enacted appropriating any part of 
the permanent or available school fund to any other purpose whatever ; nor 
shall the same or any part thereof ever be appropriated to, or used for the 
support of any sectarian school ; and the available school fund herein pro- 
vided shall be distributed to the several counties according to their scholastic 
population, and applied in manner as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 6. All lands heretofore or hereafter granted to the several counties 
of this State for education or schools, are of right the property of said 
counties respectively to which they were granted, and title thereto is vested 
in said counties, and no adverse possession or limitation shall ever be avail- 
able against the title of any county. Each county may sell or dispose of its 
lands in whole or in part, in manner to be provided by the Commissioners' 
Court of the county. Actual settlers residing on said lands shall be pro- 
tected in the prior right of purchasing the same to the extent of their set- 
tlement, not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres, at the price fixed by 
said court, Avhich price shall not include the value of existing improvements 
made thereon by such settlers. Said lands and the proceeds thereof, when 
sold, shall be held by said counties alone as a trust for the benefit of public 
schools therein ; said pi'oceeds to be invested in bonds of the State of Texas, 
or of the United States, and only the interest thereon to be used and ex- 
pended annually. 

Sec. 7. Separate schools shall be pi-ovided for the white and colored 
children, and impartial provision shall be made for both. 

44 



832 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 8. The Governoi", Comptroller, and Secretary of State shall consti- 
tute a Board of Education, who shall distribute said funds to the several 
counties, and perform such other duties conceruiug pubhc schools as may 
be prescribed by law. 

ASYLUMS. 

Sec. 9. All lands hei-etofore granted for the benefit of the Lunatic, Blind, 
peaf and Dumb, and Orphan Asylums, together with such donations as 
may have been made or may hereafter be made to either of them, respect- 
ively, as indicated in the several grants, are hereby set apart to provide a 
permanent fund for the support, maintenance, and improvement of said 
asylums. And the Legislature may provide for the sale of the lands and 
investment of the pi'oceeds in manner as provided for the sale and invest- 
ment of school lauds in Section 4 of this Article. 

UNIVERSITY. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, establish, organize, 
and provide for the maintenance, support, and direction of a university of 
the first class, to be located by a vote of the people of the State, and styled 
" The University of Texas," for the promotion of literature, and the arts 
and sciences, including an agricultural and mechanical department. 

Sec. 11. In order to enable the Legislature to perform the duties set forth 
in the foregoing section, it is hereby declared that all lands and other prop- 
erty heretofore set apart and appropriated for the establishment and main- 
tenance of " The University of Texas," together with all the proceeds of 
sales of th3 same, hei'etofore made or hereafter to be made, and all grants, 
donations, and appropriations that may hereafter be made by the State of 
Texas, or from any other source, shall constitute and become a permanent 
university fund. And the same as realized and received into the Treasury 
of the State (together with such sums, belonging to the fund, as may now 
be in the Treasury), shall be invested in bonds of the State of Texas, if the 
same can be obtained ; if not, then in United States bonds ; and the interest 
accruing thereon shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature to 
accomplish the purpose declared in the foregoing section ; 2^^'ovided, that 
one-tenth of the alternate sections of the lands granted to railroads, reserved 
by the State, which were set apart and appropriated to the establishment of 
" The University of Texas," by an act of the Legislature of February 11, 
1858, entitled " An act to establish ' The University of Texas,'" shall not be 
included in or constitute a part of the permanent university fund. 

Sec. 12. The land herein set apart to the university fund shall be sold 
under such regulations, at such times, and on such terms, as may be pro- 
vided, by law ; and the Legislature shall provide for the prompt collection, 
at maturity, of all debts due on account of university lands, heretofore sold, 
or that may hereafter be sold, and shall in neither event have the power to 
grant relief to the purchasers. 

Sec. 13. The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, established 
"by an act of the Legislature, passed April 17, 1871, located in the county of 



CONSTITUTION. 833 

Brazos, is hereby made and constituted a brancli of tlie University of Texas, 
for instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, and the natui'al sciences 
connected thei'ewith. And the Legishiture shall, at its next session, make 
an appi'opriation, not to exceed forty thousand dollars, for the construction 
and completion of the buildings and improvements, and for providing the 
furniture necessary to put said college in immediate and successful opera- 
tion. 

Sec. 14. The Legislature shall also, when deemed practicable, establish 
and provide for the maintenance of a college or branch university for the 
instruction of the colored youths of the State, to be located by a vote of 
the people; provided, that no tax shall be levied, and no money appropria- 
ted out of the general revenue, either for this purpose or the establishment 
and erection of the buildings of the University of Texas. 

Sec. 15. In addition to the lands lieretofore granted to the University of 
Texas, there is hereby set apart and appropriated, for the endowment, 
maintenance, and support of said University and its branches, one millio'n 
acres of the unappropriated public domain of the State, to be designated 
and surveyed as may be provided by law ; and said lands shall be sold under 
the same regulations, and the proceeds invested in the same manner as is 
provided for the sale and investment of the permanent University fund ; 
and the Legislature shall not have power to grant any relief to the purchas- 
ers of said lands. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

TAXATION AND REVENUE. 

Section 1. Taxation shall be equal and uniform. All property in this 
State, whether owned by natural persons or corporations, other than munic- 
ipal, shall be taxed in proportion to its value, which shall be ascertained as 
may be provided by law. The Legislature may impose a i)()ll tax. It may 
also impose occupation taxes, both upon natural persons and upon corpoi-a- 
tions, other than municipal, doing any business in this State. It may tax 
incomes of both natural persons and corporations, other than municipal, 
except that persons engaged iu mechanical and agricultural pursuits shall 
never be required to pay an occupation tax: provided, t\YAi two hundred 
and fifty dollars worth of household and kitchen furniture, belonging to 
each family in this State, shall be exempt from taxation; awd iwovided fur- 
ther, that the occupation tax levied by any county, city, or town, for any year, 
on persons or corporations pursuing any professions or business, shall not 
exceed one-half of the tax levied by the State for the same period on such 
professions of business. 

Sec. 2. All occupation taxes shall be equal and uniform upon the same 
class of subjects within the limits of the authority levying the tax ; but the 
Legislature may, by general laws, exempt from taxation public property 
used for public purposes; actual places of religious worship; places of 
burial not held for private or corporate profit; all buildings used exclusively 
and owned by persons or associations of persons for school purposes (and 
the necessary furniture of all schools), and institutions of purely public 



834 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

charity; and all laws exempting property from taxation other than the 
projierty above mentioned, shall be void. 

Sec. 3. Taxes shall be levied and collected by general laws and for pub- 
lic purposes only. 

Sec. 4. The power to tax corporations and corporate property shall not 
be surrendered or suspended by act of the Legislature, by any contract or 
grant to which the State shall be a pai'ty. 

Sec. 5. All property of railroad companies, of whatever description, lying 
or being within the limits of any city or corporated town within this State, 
shall bear its proportionate share of municipal taxation; and if any such 
property shall not have been heretofore rendered, tlie authorities of the 
city or town within which it lies shall have power to require its rendition, 
and collect the usual municipal tax thereon, as on other property lying 
within said municipality. 

Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in pursuance of 
specific appropriation made by law ; nor shall any appropriation of money 
be made for a longer term than two years, except by the first Legislature to 
assemble under this Constitution, which may make the necessary appropria- 
tions to carry on the government until the assemblage of the Sixteenth Leg- 
islature. 

Sec. 7. The Legislature shall not have power to borrow, or in any manner 
divert from its purpose any special fund that ma}', or ought to, come into 
the Treasury ; and shall make it penal for any person or persons to boiTOw, 
withhold, or in any manner to divert from its purpose any special fund, or 
any i)art thereof. 

Sec. 8. All property of railroad companies shall be assessed, and the 
taxes collected in the several coupties in which said property is situated, in- 
cluding so much of the road-bed and fixtures as shall be in each county. 
The rolling stock may be assessed in gross in the county whei-e the principal 
office of the company is located, and the county tax paid upon it shall be 
apportioned by the Comptroller, in proportion to the distance such I'oad 
may run through any such county, among the several counties through 
which the road passes, as a part of their tax assets. 

Sec. 9. The State tax on property, exclusive of the tax necessary to pay 
the public debt, shall never exceed fifty cents on the one hundred dollars 
valuation, and no county, city, or town shall levy more than one-half of said 
State tax, except for the payment of debts already incurred, and for the 
erection of public buildings, not to exceed fifty cents on the one hundred 
dollars in any one year, and except as in this Constitution is otherwise pro- 
Tided. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall have no power to release the inhabitants 
of, or property in, any county, city, or town, from the payment of taxes 
levied for State or county purposes, unless in case of great public calamity 
in any such county, city, or town, when such release may be made by a vote 
of two-thirds of each House of the Legislature. 




BAILEOAD BRIDGE, BRAZOS RIVER, NEAR HEARNE, I. & G. N. R. R. 



CONSTITUTION". 837 

Sec. U. All property, whether owned by persons or corporations, shall 
be assessed for taxation, and tlie taxes paid in the county wliere situated, 
but the Legislature may, by a two-thirds vote, authorize the payment of 
taxes of non-residents of counties to be made at the office of the Comptrol- 
ler of Public Accounts. And all lands and other property not rendered for 
taxation by the owner thereof shall be assessed at its fair value by the proper 
officer. 

Sec. 12, All property subject to taxation in, and owned by residents of, 
unorganized counties, shall be assessed and the taxes thereon paid in the 
counties to which such unorganized counties shall be attached for judicial 
purposes; and lands lying in and owned by non-residents of unorganized 
counties, and lands lying in the territory, not laid off into counties, shall be 
assessed and the taxes thereon collected at the office of the Comptroller of 
the State, 

Sec. 13, Provision shall be made by the first Legislature ior the speedy 
sale of a sufficient portion of all lands and other property for the taxes due 
thereon, and every year thereafter for the sale of all lands and other prop- 
erty upon which the taxes have not been paid, and the deed of conveyance 
to the purchaser for all lands and other property thus sold shall be held to 
vest a good and perfect title in the purchaser thereof, subject to be impeached 
only for actual fraud ; provided, that the former owner shall, within two 
years from date of purchaser's deed, have the right to redeem the land 
upon the payment of double the amount of money paid for the laud. 

Sec. 14, Thei-e shall be elected by the qualified electors of each county, 
at the same time and under the same law regulating the election of State 
and county officers, an assessor of taxes, who shall hold his office for two 
years, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 

Sfic. 15, The annual assessment made upon landed property shall be a 
special lien thereon, and all property, both real and personal, beloiigiii"- to 
any delinquent taxpayer, shall be liable to seizure and sale for the payment 
of all the taxes and penalties due by such delinquent ; and such property 
may be sold for the payment of the taxes and penalties due by such delin- 
quent, under such regulations as the Legislature may provide. 

Sec. 16, The sheriff of each county, in addition to his other duties, shall 
be the collector of taxes therefor. But in counties having ten thousand 
inhabitants, to be determined by the last preceding census of the United 
States, a collector of taxes shall be elected to hold office for two years, and 
until his successor shall be elected and qualified. 

Sec. 17. The specification of the objects and subjects oi taxation shall 
not deprive the Legislature of the power to require other subjects or 
objects to be taxed in such manner as may be consistent with the principles 
of taxation fixed in this Constitution. 

Sec, 18. The Legislature shall provide for equalizing, as near as may be, 
the valuation of all property subject to or rendered for taxation (the County 
Commissioner's Court to constitute a board of equalization) ; and niav also 
provide for the chissification of all lands, with reference to their value iu 
the several counties. 



838 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

ARTICLE IX. 

COUNTIES. 

Section 1. The Legislature shall have power to create counties for the 
convenience of the people, subject to the following provisions: 

First. — In the territory of the State exterior to all counties now existing^ 
no new counties shall be created with a less area than nine hundred square 
miles, in a square form, unless prevented by pre-existing boundary lines. 
Should the State lines render this impracticable in border counties, the area 
may be less. The territory referred to may, at any time, iu whole or in 
part, be divided into counties in advance of population, and attached, for 
judicial and land-surveying purposes, to the most convenient organized 
county or counties. 

Second. — Within tlie territory of any county or counties now existing, no 
new county shall be created with a less area than seven hundred square 
miles, nor shall any such county now existing be reditced to a less area 
than seven liundred square miles. No new counties shall be created so as 
to approach nearer than twelve miles of the county seat of any county from 
which it may, in whole or in part, be tal^en. Counties of a less area than 
nine hundred, but of seven hundred or more square miles, within counties 
now existing, may be created by a two-thirds vote of each House of the 
Legislature, taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals. Any 
county now existing may be reduced to an area of not Jess than seven hun- 
dred square miles, by a like two-thirds vote. When any part of a county i& 
stricken off and attached to or created into another county, the part sticken 
off shall be holden for and obliged to pay its proportion of all the liabilities 
then existing of the county from which it was taken, in such manner as 
may be prescribed by law. 

Third. — No part of any existing county shall be detached from it and 
attached to another existing county until the proposition for such change 
shall have been submitted, in such manner as may be provided by law, to a 
vote of the electors of both counties, and shall have received a majority of 
those voting on the question iu each. 

COUNTY SEATS. 

Sec. 2. The Legislature shall pass laws regulating the manner of remov- 
ing county seats, but no county seat situated within five miles of the geo- 
graphical centre of the county shall be removed, except by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the electors voting on the subject. A majority of such electors, 
however, voting at such election, may remove a county seat from a point 
more than live miles from the geographical centre of the county to a point 
within five miles of such centre, in either case the centre to be determined 
by a certificate from the Comissiouer of the General Land Office. 

AETICLE X. 

RAILROADS. 

Section 1. Any railroad corporation or association, organized under the 
law for the purpose, shall have the right to construct and operate a railroad 
between any points within this State, and to connect at the State line with 



COJfSTITUTION. 839 

railroads of other States. Every railroad company shall have the right, 
with its road, to intersect, connect with, or cross any other railroad ; and 
shall receive and transport each the other's passengers, tonnage, and cars, 
loaded or empty, without delay or discrimination, vinder such regulations 
as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 2. Railroads heretofore constructed, or that may hereafter be con- 
structed in this State, are liereby declared public highways, and railroad 
companies common carriers. The Legislature shall pass laws to correct 
abuses and prevent unjust discrimination and extortion in the rates of 
freight and passenger tariffs on the differerit railroads in this State ; and 
shall from time to time pass laws establishing reasonable maximum rates 
of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight on said railroads, 
and enforce all such laws by adequate penalties. 

Sec. 3. Every railroad or other corporation, organized or doing business 
iu this State under the laws or authority thereof, shall have and maintain a 
public ofli e or place in this State for the transaction of its business, where 
transfers of stock shall be made, and where shall be kept, for inspection 
by the stockholders of such corporations, books, iu which shall be recorded 
the amount of capital stock subscribed, the names of the owners of the 
stock, the amounts owned by them respectively, the amount of stock paid, 
and by whom, the transfer of said stock, with the date of the trensfer, the 
amount of its assets and liabilities, and the names and places of residence 
of its officers. The directors of every railroad company shall hold one 
meeting annually in this State, public notice of which shall be given thirty 
days previously, and the prosiilent or superintendent shall report annually, 
under oath, to the Comptroller or Governor, their acts and doings, which 
report shall include such matters relating to railroads as ma}' be prescribed 
by law. The Legislature shall pass laws enforcing by suitable penalties the 
provisions of this section. 

Sec. 4. The rolling stock and all other movable property belonging to 
any railroad company or corporation in this State shall be considered per- 
sonal property, and its real and personal property, or any part thereof, shall 
be liable to execution and sale in the same manner as the property of iiuli- 
viduals; and the Legislature shall pass no laws exempting any such prop- 
erty from execution and sale. 

Sec. 5. No railroad or other corporation, or the lessees, i^urchasers, or 
managers of any railroad corporation, shall consolidate the stock, property, 
or franchises of such coriwration with, or lease or purchase the works or 
franchises of, or in anyway control any railroad corporation oAvniiig or 
having under its control a parallel or competing line; nor shall any officer 
of such railroad corporation act as an officer of any other railroad corpora- 
tion owning or having the control of a parallel or competing line 

Sec. 6. No railroad company organized under the laws of this State shall 
consolidate by private or judicial sale or otherwise with any railroad com- 
pany organized under the laws of any other State or of the United States. 

Sec. 7. No law shall be passed by the Legislature granting the right to 
construct and operate a street raih'oad wiihin any city, town, or village, or 



840 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

upon any public highway, without first acquiring the consent of the local 
authorities having control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied 
by such street railroad. 

Sec. 8. No railroad corporation in existence at the time of the adoption 
of this Constitution shall liave the benefit of any future legislation, except- 
on condition of complete acceptance of all the provisions of tliis Constitu- 
tion ajiplicable to railroads. 

Sec. 9. No railroad hereafter constructed in this State shall pass within a 
distance of three miles of any county seat without passing through the 
same, and establishing and maintaining a depot therein, unless prevented 
by natural obstacles, such as streams, hills, or mountains ; provided, such 
town or its citizens shall grant the right of way through its limits, and suf- 
ficient ground for ordinary depot purposes. 

ARTICLE XI. 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS. 

Section 1. The several counties of this State are hereby recognized as 
legal subdivisons of the State. 

Sec. 2. The construction of jails, court-houses, and bridges, and the es- 
tablishment of county poor-houses and farms, and the laying out, construc- 
tion, and repairing of county roads shall be provided for by general laws. 

Sec. 3. No county, city, or other municipal corporation shaU hei-eafter be- 
come a subscriber to the capital of any private corporation or association, 
or make any appropriation or donation to the same, or in anywise loan its 
credit ; but this shall not be construed to in any way affect any obhgation 
heretofore undertaken pursuant to law. 

Sec. 4. Cities and towns having a population of ten thousand inhabitants 
or less, may be chartered alone by genei-al law. They may levy, assess, 
and collect an annual tax to defray the current expenses of their local gov- 
ernment, but such tax shall never exceed, for any one year, one-fourth of 
one per cent., and shall be collectable only in current money. And a 
license and occupation tax levied, and all fines, forfeitures, penalties, and 
other dues accruing to cities and towns shall be collectable only in current 
money. 

Sec. 5. Cities having more than ten thousand inhabitants may have their 
charters granted or amended by special act of the Legislature, and may 
levy, assess, and collect such taxes as maybe authorized by law, but no tax 
i'or any purpose shall ever be lawful, for any one year, which shall exceed 
two and one-half per cent, of the taxable property of such city; and no debt 
shall ever be created by any city, unless at the same time provision be made 
to assess and collect aiuiually a suflScient sum to pay the interest thereon 
and create a sinking fund of at least two per cent, thereon. 

Sec. 6. Counties, cities, and towns are authorized, in such mode as may 
now or may hereafter be p'rovidcd by law, to levy, assess, and collect the 
taxes necessary to pay the interest and provide a sinking fund to satisfy any 




ARANSAS BAY. 



CONSTITUTION. 843 

indebtedness heretofore legally made and undertaken ; but all such taxes 
shall be assessed and collected separately from that levied, assessed, and 
collected for current expenses of municipal government, and shall, when 
levied, specify in the act of levying the purpose therefor; and such taxes 
may be paid in the coupons, bonds, or other indebtedness for the payment 
of which such tax may have been levied. 

Sec. 7. All counties and cities bordering on the coast of the Gulf ( 
"Mexico are hereby authorized, upon a vote of two-thirds of the tax-payer^ 
therein (to be ascertained as may be provided by law) to levy and collect 
such tax for construction of sea-walls, breakwaters, or sanitary purposes, as 
may be authorized by law, and may create a debt for such works and issue 
bonds in evidence thereof. But no debt for any purpose shall ever be in- 
curred in any manner by any city or county, unless provision is made at the 
time of creating the same, for levying and collecting a sufficient tax to pay 
the interest thereon and provide at least two per cent, as a sinking fund ; 
and the condemnation of the right of way for the erection of such works 
shall be fully provided for. 

Sec. 8. The counties and cities on the Gulf coast being subjected to calam- 
itous overflows, and a very large proportion of the general revenue being 
dei'ived from those otherwise prosperous localities, the Legislature is espe- 
cially authorized to aid by donation of such portion of the public domain as 
may be deemed proper, and in such mode as may be provided by law, the 
construction of sea-walls, or breakwaters, such aid to be proportioned to 
the extent and value of the works constructed, or to be constructed, in any 
locality. 

Sec. 9. The property of counties, cities, and towns owned and held only 
for public purposes, such as public buildings and the sites therefor, fire-en- 
gines and the furniture thereof, and all property used or intended for ex- 
tinguishing fires, public grounds, and all other i^roperty devoted exclusively 
to the use and benefit of the public, shall be exempt from forced sale and 
from taxation: provided, ixolhing heroin shall prevent the enlbrccment of 
the vender's lien, the mechanic's or builder's lien, or other liens now exist- 
ing. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature may constitute any city or town a separate and 
independent school district. And when the citizens of any city or town 
have a charter, authorizing the city authorities to levy and collect a tax for 
the support and maintenance of a public institution of learning, such tax 
may hereafter be levied and collected, if, at any election held for that pur- 
pose, two-thirds of the tax-payers of such city or town shall vote for sucli 
tax. 

ARTICLE XII. 

private corpouations. 
Section 1. No private corporations shall be created except by general 
laws. 

Sec. 2. General laws shall be enacted providing for the creation of private 
■corporations, and shall tlicroin pnn'idc lully for the adequate protection of 
the public and of the individual stockholders. 



844 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 3. The right to authorize and regulate freights, tolls, wharfage, or 
fares levied and collected or pi'oposed to be levied and collected by individ- 
uals, companies, or corporations, for the use of highways, landings, wharves, 
bridges, and ferries, devoted to public use, has never been and shall never 
be relinquished or abandoned by the State, but shall always be under legis- 
lative control and depend u^jou legislative authority. 

Sec. 4. The first Legislature assembled after the adoption of this Consti- 
tution shall provide a mode of procedure by the Attorney-General and 
District or County Attorneys, in the name and behalf of the State, to pre- 
vent and punish the demanding and receiving or collection of any and all 
charges of freight, wharfage, fares, or tolls, for the use of property de- 
voted to the public, unless the same shall have been specially authorized 
by law. 

Sec. 5. All laws granting the right to demand and collect freights, fares, 
tolls, or wharfage shall at all times be subject to amendment, modification, 
or repeal by the Legislature. 

Sec. 6. No corporation shall issue stock or bonds except for money paid, 
labor done, or property actually received, and all fictitious increase of stock 
or indebtedness shall be void. 

Sec. 7. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to divest or affect rights 
guaranteed by any existing grant or statute of this State, or of the Republic 
of Texas. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

SPANISH AND MEXICAN LAND TITLES. 

Section 1. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, which have here- 
tofore accrued to the Republic and State of Texas, under their constitutions 
and laws, shall accrue to the State under this Constitution, and the Legis- 
lature shall provide a metht)d for determining what lands have been for- 
feited, and for giving effects to escheats; and such rights of forfeitua'e 
and escheats to the State shall, ipso facto, inure to the protection of the in- 
nocent holders of junior titles, as provided in Sections 2, 3, and 4 of this 
Article. 

Sec. 2. Any claim of title or right to land in Texas, issued prior to the 
loth day of November, 1835, not duly recorded in the county where the 
land was situated at the time of such record, or not duly archived in the 
General Land Office, or not in the actual possession of the grantee thei'eof, 
or some person claiming under him, prior to the accruing of junior title 
thereto from the sovereignty of the soil, under circumstances reasonably 
calculated to give notice to said junior grantee, has never had, and shall 
not have, standing or effect against such junior title, or color of title, ac- 
quired without such or actual notice of such prior claim of title or right; 
and no condition annexed to such grants, not archived, or recorded, or oc- 
cupied as aforesaid, has been, or ever shall be released or waived, but actual 
performance of all such conditions shall be proved by the person or persons 
claiming under such title or claim of right in order to maintain action 



CONSTITUTION. 845 

thereon, and the holder of such junior title, or color of title, shall have all 
the rights of the Government which have heretofore existed, or now exist, 
arising from the non-performance of all such conditions. 

Sec. 3. JSfon-payment of taxes on any claim of title to land, dated prior 
to the 13th day of November, 1835, not recorded or archived, as provided 
in Section 2, by the person or persons so claiming, or those under whom he 
or they so claim, from that date up to the date of the adoption of this Con- 
stitution, shall be held to be a presumption that the riiiht thereto has re- 
verted to the State, and that said claim is a stale demand, which presump- 
tion shall only be rebutted by payment of all taxes on said lands, State, 
county, and city or town, to be assessed on the fair value of such lands by 
the Comptroller, and paid to him, without commutation or deduction for 
any part of the above period. 

Sec. 4. No claim of title or right to land, which issued prior to the 13th 
day of November, 1835, which has not been duly recorded in the county 
whei'e the land was situated at the time of §uch record, or which has not 
been duly archived in the General Land Office, shall ever hereafter be de- 
posited in the General Land Office, or recorded in this State, or delineated 
on the maps, or used as evidence in any of the courts of this State, and the 
same are stale claims; but this shall not affect such rights or presumptions 
as arise from actual possession. By the words " duly recorded," as used 
in Sections 2 and 4 of this Article, it is meant that such claim of title or 
right to land shall have been recorded in the proper office, and that mere 
errors in the certificate of registration or informality, not affecting the 
fairness and good faith of the holder thereof, with which the record was 
made, shall not be held to vitiate such record. 

Sec. 5. All claims, locations, surveys, grants, and titles, of any kind, 
which are declared null and void by the Constitution of the Kepublic or 
State of Texas, are, and the same shall remain forever, null and void. 

Sec. 6. The Legislature shall pass stringent laws for the detection and 
conviction of all forgers of land titles, and may make such appropiiatious 
of money for that purpose as may be necessary. 

Sec. 7. Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article shall not be so construed 
as to set aside or repeal any law or laws of the Republic or State of Texas, 
releasing the claimants of headrights of colonists of a league of land, or 
less, from comDliance with the conditions on which their grants were 
made. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

PUBLIC LANDS AND LAND OFFICE. 

Section 1. There shall be one General Land Office in the State, which 
shall be at the seat of government, where all land titles which have emana- 
ted or may hereafter emanate from the State shall be registered, except 
those titles the registration of which may be prohibited by this Constitu- 
tion. It shall be the duty of the Legislature at the earliest practicable 
time to make the Land Office self-sustaining, and from time to time tlie 
Legislature may establish such subordinate offices as may be deemed 
necessary. 



846 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 2. All unsatisfied genuine land certificates barred by Section 4, Arti- 
cle 10, of the Constitution of 1869, by reason of the holders or owners there- 
of failing to have them surveyed and returned to the Land Office by the 
first day of January, 1875, are hereby revived. All unsatisfied genuine land 
certificates now in existence shall be surveyed and returned to the General 
Land Office within five years after the adoption of this Constitution, or be 
forever barred; and all genuine land certificates hereafter issued by the 
State shall be surveyed and returned to the General Land Office Mi thin five 
j'ears after issuance, or be forever barred ; provided, that all genuine land 
certificates heretofoi'e or hereafter issued shall be located, surveyed, or 
patented only upon vacant and unappropriated public domain, and not 
upon any land titled or equitably owned under color of title from the sover- 
eignty of the State, evidence of the appropriation of which is on the county 
records or in the General Land Office ; or when the appropriation is evi- 
denced by the occupation of the owner, or of some person holding for him. 

Sec. 3. The Legislature shall have no power to grant any of the lands of 
this State to any railway comjJany except upon the following restrictions 
and conditions: 

First. — That there shall never be granted to any such corporation more 
than sixteen sections to the mile, and no reservation of any part of the 
public domain for the purpose of satisfying such gi'ant shall ever be made. 

Second. — That no land certificate shall be issued to such company until 
they have equipped, constructed, and in running order at least ten miles of 
road ; and on the failure of such company to comply with the terras of its 
charter, or to alienate its land at a period to be fixed by law, in no event to 
exceed twelve years from the issuance of the patent, all said land shall be 
forfeited to the State and become a portion of the public domain, and liable 
to location and survey. The Legislature shall pass general laws only, to 
give effect to the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 4. No certificate for land shall be sold at the Land Office except to 
actual settlers upon the same, and in lots not to exceed one hundred and 
sixty acres. 

Sec. 5. All lands heretofore or hereafter granted to railway companies, 
where the charter or law of* the State required or shall hereafter require 
their alienation within a certain pei'iod, on pain of forfeiture, or is silent on 
the subject of forfeiture, and which lands have not been or shall not here- 
after be alienated, in conformity with the terms of their charters, and the 
laws under which the grants were made, are hereby declared forfeited to 
the State and subject to pre-emption, location, and survey, as other vacant 
lands. All lands heretofore granted to said railroad companies, to which no 
forfeiture was attached on their failure to alienate, are not included in the 
foregoing clause ; but in all such last-named cases it shall be the duty of the 
Attorney General, in every instance where alienations have been or hereafter 
may be made, to inquire into the same, and if such alienation has been made 
in fraud of the rights of the State, and is colorable only, the real and bene- 
ficial interest being still in such corporation, lo institute legal proceedings 
in the county where the seat of government is situated, to forfeit such lauds 







COLORADO RIVER BRIDGE, AUSTIN— I. & G. N. R. R. 



CONSTITUTION. 849 

to the State, and if such alienation be judicially ascertained to be fVauduIent 
and colorable as aforesaid, such lands shall be forfeited to the State and be- 
come a part of the vacant public domain, liable to pre-emption, location, and 
survey. 

Sec. 6. To every head of a fjimily without a homestead there shaU be do- 
nated one hundred and sixty acres of public land, upon condition that he 
will select and locate said land, and occupy the same thi'ee years, and pay 
the office fees due thereon. To all single men of eighteen years of age and 
upwards shall be donated eighty acres of public land, upon the terms and 
conditions prescribed for heads of families. 

Sec. 7. The State of Texas hereby releases to the owner or owners of the 
soil all mines and minerals that may be on the same, subject to taxation as 
other property. 

Sec. 8. Persons i-esiding between the Nueces river and the Rio Grande, 
and owning grants for lands which emanated from the government of Spain, 
or that of Mexico, which grants have been recognized and validated by the 
State, by acts of the Legislature, approved February 10, 1852, August 15, 
1870, and other acts, and who have been prevented from complying with 
the requirements of said acts by the unsettled condition of the country, 
shall be allowed until the first day of January, 1880, to complete their sur- 
veys, and the plats thereof, and to return their field-notes to the General 
Land Offlce ; and all claimants failing to do so shall be forever barred: pro- 
vided, nothing in this section shall be so construed as to validate any titles 
not already valid, or to interfere with the rights of third persons. 

ARTICLE XV. 

impeachment. 

Section 1. The power of impeachment shall be vested in the House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. 2. Impeachment of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Attorney- 
General, Treasurer, Commissioner of the General Land Office, Comptroller, 
and the Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Court 
shall be tried by the Senate. 

Sec. 3. When the Senate is sitting as a Court of Impeachment, the Sena- 
tors shall be on oath, or affirmation, impartially to try the party impeached, 
and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of 
the Senators present. 

Sec. 4. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall extend only to removal 
from office, and disqualification from holding any office of honor, trust, or 
profit, under this State. A party convicted on impeachment shall also be 
subject to indictment, trial, and punishment, according to law. 

Sec. 5. All officers against whom articles of impeachment may be pre- 
ferred shall be suspended from the exercise of the duties of their office, 
during the pendency of such impeachment. The Governor may make a 
provisional appointment to fill the vacancy occasioned by the suspension of 
an officer, until the decision on the impeachment. 



850 HISTOEY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 6. Any Judge of the District Courts of the State who is iucompetent 
to discharge the duties of his office, or who shall be guilty of partiality, or 
oppression, or other official misconduct, or whose habits and conduct are 
such as to render him unfit to hold such office, or who shall negligently fail 
to perfoi'm his duties as judge, or who shall fail to execute in a reasonable 
measure the business in his courts, may be removed by the Supreme Court. 
The Supreme Court sliall have original jurisdiction to hear and deteruiine 
the causes aforesaid when presented in writing' upon the oaths, taken before 
some Judge of a Court of Eecord, of not less than ten lawyers, practising in 
the courts held by such judge, and licensed to practise in the Supreme 
Court; said presentment to be founded cither upon the knowledge of the 
persons making it or upon the written oaths as to the facts of creditable wit- 
nesses. The Supreme Court may issue all needful process and prescribe all 
needful rules to give effect to this section. Causes of this kind shall have 
precedence and be tried as soon as practicable. 

Sec. 7, The Legislature shall provide by law for the trial and removal 
from office of all officers of this State, the modes for which have not been 
provided in this Constitution 

ADDRESS. 

Sec. 8. The Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District 
Courts, shall be removed by the Governor on the address of two-thirds of 
each House of the Legislature, for wilful neglect of dutj^, incompetency, 
habitual drunkenness, oppression in office, or other reasonable cause which 
shall not be sufficient ground for impeachment; 2^>'ovided, hoiaever, that the 
cause or causes for which such removal shall be required shall be stated at 
length in such address and entered on the journals of each House ; a7ul pro- 
vided furthe}', that the cause or causes shall be notified to the judge so in- 
tended to be removed, and he shall be admitted to a hearing in his own de- 
fence before any vote for such address shall pass; and in all such cases, 
the vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, and entered on the journals of 
each House respectively. 

AETICLE XVI. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Section 1. Members of the Legislature, and all officers, before they enter 
upon the duties of their offices, shall take the following oath or affirmation: 
" I, ( ), do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully and im- 
partially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as , 

according to the best of my skill and ability, agreeably to the Constitution 
and laws of the United States and of this State; and I do further solemnly 
swear (or affirm), that since the adoption of the Constitution of this State, 
I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons, 
within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to 
fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carry- 
ing a challenge, or aided, advised, or assisted any person thus offending. 
And I furthermore solemnly swear (or affirm), that I have not directly 



CONSTITUTION. 851 

nor indirectly paid, offered, or promised to pay, contributed nor promised 
to contribute any money, or valuable thing, or promised any public office 
or employment, as a reward for the giving or withholding a vote at the 
election atVhich I was elected (or if the office is one of appointment, to 
secure my appointment). So help me God." 

Sec 2. Laws shall be made to exclude from office, serving on juries, and 
from the right of suffrage, those who may have been or shall hereafter be 
convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes. The privilege 
of free suffrage shall be protected by laws regulating elections, and pro- 
hibiting under adequate penalties all undue influence therein from power, 
bribery, tumult, or other improper practice. 

Sec. 3. The Legislature shall make provisions whereby persons covicted 
of misdemeanors and committed to the county jails in default of payment 
of fines and costs, shall be required to discharge such fines and costs by 
manual labor, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. Any citizen of this State who shall, after the adoption of tliis 
Constitution, fight a duel with deadly weapons, or send or accept a chal- 
lenge to fight a duel Avith deadly weapons, either within this State or out 
of it, or who shall act as second, or knowingly assist in any manner those 
thus offending, shall be deprived of the right of suffrage, or of holding any 
office of trust or profit under this State. 

Skc. 5. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office of 
profit or trust in this State, who shall have been convicted of having given 
or offered a bribe to procure his election or appointment. 

Sec. 6. No appropriation for private or individual purposes shall be made. 
A regular statement, under oath, and an account of the receipts and expen- 
ditures of all public money shall be published annually, in such manner as 
shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 7. The Legislature shall in no case, have power to issue " Treasury 
Warrants," " Treasury Notes," or paper of any description intended to cir- 
culate as money. 

Sec. 8. Each county in the State may provide, in such manner as may be 
prescribed by law, a manual-labor poorhouse and farm, for taking care of, 
managing, employing, and supplying the wants of its indigent and poor in- 
habitants. 

Sec. 9. Absence on business of the State, or of the United States, shall 
not forfeit a residence once obtained, so as to deprive anyone of the riglit o\' 
suffrage, or of being elected or appointed to any office, under the exceptions 
contained in this Constitution. 

Sec. 10. The Legislature shall provide for deductions from the salaries of 
public officers who may neglect the performance of any duty that may be 
assigned them by law. 

Sec. 11. The legal rate of interest shall not exceed eight per cent, per 
annum, in the absence of any contract as to the rate of interest ; and by 



852 V HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

contract parties may agree upon any rate not to exceed twelve per cert, per 
annum. All interest charged above this last-named rate shall be deemed 
usurious, and the Legislature shall, at its first session, provide appropriate 
pains and penalties to prevent and punish usury. 

Sec. 12. No member of Congress, nor person holding or exercising any 
office of profit or trust under the United States, or either of them, or under 
any foreign power, shall be eligible as a member of the Legislature, or hold 
or exei'cise any office of profit or trust under this State. 

Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may 
be necessary and proper to decide differences by arbitration, when the 
parties shall elect that method of trial. 

Sec. 14. All civil officers shall reside within the State ; and all district or 
county officers within their districts or counties, and shall keep their offices 
at such places as may be required by law ; and failure to comply with this 
condition shall vacate the office so held. 

Sec. 15. All property, both real and personal, of the wife, owned or 
claimed by her before marriage, and that acquired afterward by gift, devise, 
or descent, shall be her separate property ; and laws shall be passed more 
clearly defining the rights of the wife, in relation as well to her separate 
property as that held in common with her husband. Laws shall also be 
passed providing for the registration of the wife's separate property. 

Sec. 16. No corporate body shall hereafter be created, renewed, or ex- 
tended with banking or discounting privileges. 

Sec. 17. All officers within this State shall continue to perform the duties 
of their offices until their successors shall be duly qualified. 

Sec. 18. The rights of property and of action which have been acquired 
under the Constitution and laws of the Kepublic and State shall not be 
divested; nor shall any rights or actions which have been divested, barred, 
or declared null and void by the Constitution of the Republic and State, be 
re-invested, renewed, or reinstated by this Constitution; but the same shall 
remain precisely in the situation in which they were before the adoption of 
this Constitution, unless otherwise herein provided ; and provided further, 
that no cause of action heretofore barred shall be revived. 

Sec. 19. The Legislature shall prescribe by law the qualification of grand 
and petit jurors. 

Sec. 20. The Legislature shall, at its first session, enact a law whereby the 
qualified voters of any county, justice's precinct, town, or city, by a majority 
vote, from time to time, may determine whether the sale of intoxicating 
liquors shall be prohibited within the prescribed limits. 

Sec. 21. All stationery and printing, except proclamations and such print- 
ing as may be done at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, paper, and fuel used in 
the legislative and other departments of the government, except the judi- 
cial department, shall be furnished, and the printing and binding of the laws, 
journals, and department reports, and all other printing and binding and 




BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF HOUSTON", 



CONSTITUTION. 855 

the repairing and lUrnishlng the halls and rooms used for the meetings of 
the Legislature, and its committees, shall be performed under contract, to 
be given to the lowest responsible bidder, below such maxhnnm price, and 
under such regulations as shall be prescribed by law. No member or officer 
•of any department of the government shall be in any way interested in such 
contracts; and all such contracts shall be subject to the approval of the 
Governor, Secretary of State, and Comptroller. 

Sec. 22. The Legislature shall have the power to pass such fence laws, 
applicable to any subdivision of the State, or counties, as may be needed to 
meet the wants of the people. 

Sec. 23. The Legislature may pass laws for the regulation of live stock 
and the protection of stock-raisers in the stock-raising portion of the State, 
and exempt from the operation of such laws other portions, sections, or 
■counties; and shall have power to pass general and special laws for the 
inspection of cattle, stock, and hides, and for the regulation of brands; ^:)?'o- 
vidcd, that any local law thus passed shall be submitted to the freeholders 
of the section to be affected thereby, and approved by them, before it shall 
go into effect. 

Sec. 24. The Legislature shall make provision for laying out and working 
public roads, for the building of bridges, and for utilizing tines, forfeitures, 
and convict labor to all these iDurposes. 

Sec. 25. That all drawbacks and rebatement of insurance, freight, trans- 
portation, carriage, wharfage, storage, compressing, baling, repairing, or 
for any other kind of labor or service, of or to any cotton, grain, or any 
other produce or article of commerce in this State, paid, or allowed, or con- 
tracted fur to any common carrier, shipper, merchant, commission mer- 
chant, factor, agent, or middle-man of any kind, not the true and absolute 
owner thereof, are forever prohibited, and it shall be the duty of the Legis- 
lature to pass effective laws punishing all persons in this State who pay, 
receive, or contract for or respecting the same. 

Sec. 26. Every person, corporation, or company that may commit a homi- 
cide, through wilful act, or omission, or gross neglect, shall be responsible, 
in exemplary damages, to the surviving husband, widow, heirs of his or her 
body, or such of them as there may be, without regard to anj^ criminal pro- 
ceeding that may or may not be had in relation to the homicide. 

Sec. 27. In all elections to fill vacancies of office in this State, it shall be 
to fill the unexpired term only. 

Sec. 28. No current wages for personal service shall ever be subject to 
garnishment. 

Sec. 29. The Legislature shall provide by law for defining and punishing 
barratry. 

Sec. 30. The duration of all offices not fixed by this Constitution shall 
never exceed two years. 

Sec. 31. The Legislature may pass laws prescribing the qualifications of 

45 



856 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

practitioners of medicine in this State, and to punisli persons for mal]prac- 
tice, but uo preference sliall ever be given by law to any schools of medi- 
cine. 

Sec. 32. The Legislature may provide by law for the establishment of a 
Board of Health and Vital Statistics, under such rules and regulations as it 
may deem proper. 

Sec. 33. The accounting officers of this State shall neither draw nor pay 
a warrant upon the treasury in favor of any person for salary or compensa- 
tion as agent, officer, or appointee, who holds at the same time any other 
office or position of honor, trust, or profit under this State or the United 
States, except as prescribed in this Constitution. 

Sec. 34. The Legislature shall pass laws authorizing the Governor to lease 
or sell to the government of the United States a sufficient quantity of the 
public domain of the State, necessary for the erection of forts, barracks, 
arsenals, and military stations, or camps, and for other needful military 
purposes ; and the action of the Governor therein shall be subject to the 
approval of the Legislature. 

Sec. 35. The Legislature shall, at its first session, pass laws to protect 
laborers on public buildings, streets, roads, railroads, canals, and other 
similar public works, against the failui'e of contractors and sub-contractors 
to i^'iy their current wages when due, and to make the corpoivation, com- 
pany, or individual for whose benefit the work is done, responsible for their 
ultimate payment. 

Sec. 36. The Legislature shall, at its first session, provide for the payment, 
or funding, as they may deem best, of the amounts found to be justly due 
to the teachers in the public schools, by the State, for service rendered prior 
to the first day of July, 1873, and for the payment by the school districts in 
the State of amounts justly due teachers of public schools by such district 
to, 1876. 

Sec. 37. Mechanics, artisans, and material men, of every class, shall have 
a lien upon the buildings and articles made or repaired by them, for the 
value of their labor done thereon, or material furnished therefor; and the 
Legislature shall provide by law for the speedy and efficient enforcement of 
said liens. 

Sec. 38. The Legislature may, at such time as the public interest may 
require, provide for the office of Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics, and 
History, whose term of office, duties, and salary shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 39. The Legislature may, from time to time, make appropriations 
for preserving and perpetuating monioruils of the history of Texas, by 
means of monuments, statues, i^aintings, and documents of historical value. 

Sec. 40. No person shall hold or exercise, at the same time, more than 
one civil office of emolument, except that of Justice of the Peace, County 
Commissioner, Notary Public, and Postmaster, unless otherwise specially 
provided herein. 

Sec. 41. Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, offer, give, oi 



CONSTITUTION. 857 

pi'omise any money or thing of value, testimonial, privilege, or personal 
iidvantage, to any executive or judicial officer or member of the Legislature, 
to intiueuce him in the j)ei"formauce of any of his public or official duties, 
shall be guilty of bribery, and be punished in such manner as shall be pro- 
vided by law. And any member of the Legislature, or executive or judicial 
officer who shall solicit, demand, or receive, or consent to receive, directly 
or indirectly, for himself or for another, from any company, corporation, or 
person, any money, appointment, employment, testimonial, reward, thing 
of value or employment, or of personal advantage or promise thereof, for 
his vote or official influence, or for withholding the same, or with any under- 
standing, expressed or implied, that his vote or official action shall be in any 
way influenced thereby, or who shall solicit, demand, and receive any such 
money or otlier advantage, matter, or thing aforesaid for another, as the 
consideration of his vote or official influence, in consideration of the pay- 
ment or promise of such money, advantage, matter, or thing to another, 
shall be held guilty of bribery, within the meaning of the Constitution, and 
shall incur the disabilities provided for said ofiences, with a forfeitui'e of the 
office they may hold, and such other additional punishment as is or shall be 
provided by law. 

Sec. 42. The Legislature may establish an Inebriate Asylum for the cure 
of drunkenness and reform of inebriates.. 

Sec. 43. No man or set of men shall ever be exempted, relieved, or dis- 
charged from the performance of any public dutj^ or service imposed by 
general law, by any special law. Exemptions from the performance of 
such public duty or service shall only be made by general law. 

Sec. 44. The Legislature shall prescribe the duties and provide for the 
election by the qualified voters of each county in this State, of a County 
Treasurer and a County Surveyor, who shall have an office at the county seat, 
and hokl their office for two years, and until their successors are qualified; 
and shall have such compensation as may be i)rovided by law. 

Sec. 45. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for collecting, 
arranging, and safely keeping such records, rolls, correspondence, and other 
documents, civil and military, relating to the history of Texas, as may be 
now in the possession of parties willing to confide them to the care and 
preservation of the State. 

Sec. 46. The Legislature shall provide by law for organizing and disciplin- 
ing the militia o't the State, in such manner as they shall deem expedient, 
notincompatable with the Constitution and laws of the United States. 

Sec. 47. Any person who conscientiously scruples to bear arms shall not 
be compelled to do so, but shall pay an equivalent for personal service. 

Sec. 48. All laws and parts of laws now in force in the State of Texas, 
which are not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, or to this 
Constitution, shall continue and remain in force as the laws of this State, 
until they expire by their own limitation or shall be amended or repealed by 
the Legislature. 



858 HISTORY OF TEXAS. 

Sec. 49. The Legislature shall have power, and it shall be its duty, to 
protect by law from forced sale a certain portion of the personal pi'operty 
of all heads of families, and also of unmarried adults, male and female. 

Sec. 50. The homestead of a family shall be, and is liereby protected from 
forced sale for the payment of all debts, except for the purchase-money 
thereof, or a part of such purchase-money, the taxes due thereon, or for 
work and material used in constructing improvements thereon, and in this 
last case only when the work and material are contracted for in writing, 
with the consent of the wife, given in the same manner as is required in 
making a sale and conveyance of the homestead ; nor shall the owner, if a 
married man, sell the homestead without the consent of the wife, given in 
sucli manner as may be prescribed by law. No mortgage, trust deed, or 
other lien on the homestead shall ever be valid, except for the purchase- 
money therefor, or improvements made thereon, as hereinbefore provided, 
whether sucli mortgage, or trust deed, or other lien shall have been created 
by the husband alone, or together with his wife ; and all pretended sales of 
the homestead involving any condition of defeasance shall be void. 

Sec. 51. Tlie homestead, not in a town or city, shall consist of not 
more tliau two hundred acres of land, whicli may be in one or more parcels, 
with the improvements thereon; the homestead in a city, town, or village 
shall consist of lot, or lots, not to Exceed in value five thousand dollars, at 
the time of their designation as the homestead, without reference to the 
value of any improvements thei-eon ; provided, that the same shall be used 
for the purpose of a home, or as a place to exercise the calling or business of 
the head of a family ; provided also, that any temporary renting of the home- 
stead shall not change the chai'acter of the same, when no other homestead 
has been acquired. 

Sec. 52. On the death of the husband or wife, or both, the homestead 
shall descend and vest in like manner as other real property of the deceased, 
and shall be governed by the same laws of descent and distribution, but it 
shall not be partitioned among the heirs of the deceased during the lifetime 
of the surviving husband or wife, or so long as the survivor may elect to 
use or occupy the same as a homestead, or so long as the guardian of the 
minor children of the decea=?ed may be i^ermitted, under the order of the 
proper court having the jurisdiction, to use and occupy the same. 

Sec. 53. That no inconvenience may arise from the adoption of this Con- 
stitution, it is declared that all process and writs of all kinds which have 
been or may be issued and not returned or executed when this Constitutioh 
is ad:)pted, shall remain valid, and shall not be in any way affected be the 
adoption of this Constitution. 

Sec. 54. It shall be the duty of the Legislature to provide for the custody 
and maintenance of indigent lunatics, at the expense of the State, under 
such regulations and restrictions as the Legislature may prescribe. 

Sec. 55. The Legislature may provide annual pensions, not to exceed one 
hundred and fifty dollars per annum, to surviving soldiers or volunteers in 
the war between Texas and Mexico, from the commencement of the revo- 




SA\ PEDRO SPRINGS. 



CONSTITUTION. 861 

lution in 1835, until the 1st ol January, 1837 ; and also to the surviving- 
signers of the Declaration of Independence of Texas ; and to the surviving 
widows continuing unmarried of such soldiers and signers ; provided, that 
no such pension be granted except to those in indigent circumstances, 
proof of which shall be made before the. County Court of the county where 
the applicant resides, in such manner as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 56. The Legislature shall have no power to appropriate any of i\v 
public money for the establishment and maintenance of a bureau of immi- 
gration, or for any purpose of bringing immigrants to this State. 

Sec. 57. Three millions acres of the public domain are hereby appropriated 
and set apart for the purpose of ei'ecting a new State capitol and other 
necessar}^ public buildings at the seat of government, said lands to be sold 
under the direction of the Legislature ; and the Legislature shall pass suit- 
able laws to carry this section into effect. 

AETICLE XVII. 

MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE. 

Section 1. The Legislature, at any biennial session, by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the members elected to each House, to be entered by yeas and 
nays on the journals, may propose amendments to the Constitution, to be 
voted upon by the qualified electors for members of the Legislature, which 
proposed amendments shall be duly published once a week for four weeks, 
commencing at least three months before an election, the time of which shall 
be specified by the Legislature, in one weekly newspaper of each county, in 
which such a newspaper may be published ; and it shall be the duty of the 
several returning officers of said election to open a poll for, and make returns 
to the Secretary of State, of the number of legal votes cast at said election 
for and against said amendments; and if more than one be proposed, then 
the number of votes cast for and against each of them ; and if it shall ap- 
pear from said return that a majority of the votes cast have been cast in 
favor of any amendment, the said amendment so receiving a majority of the 
Votes cast shall become a part of this Constitution, and proclamation shaU 
be made by the Governor thereof. 



Done by the delegates of the people of Texas, in Convention assembled,, 
in the city of Austin, on this the twenty-fourth day ot November, in th0 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five. 
In testimony whereof we hereunto subscribe our names : 

Edwaud B. Pickett, 
President of the Convention. 
Leigh Chalmers, 

Secretary of the Convention. 



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